The Game
by Kit Calamity
Summary: Chase/Akari: Akari wants 'friendship to blossom' between her and Chase. He’s reluctant in telling her more about himself. How will she solve this problem? By making up a game, of course! Let’s see how much Akari will find out about this enigmatic cook.
1. The Beginning

_There needs to be more stories about Chihaya/Chase. So I decided to write one! Hopefully you will all enjoy it. Sorry if you don't. ^^'_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Harvest Moon. If I did, I would probably get them out faster though. _

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**THE GAME**

"It's strange. I don't know that much about you."

"What's to know?" Chase lifted an eyebrow and inclined his head to face the farmer who asked.

"What's to know? There's a lot! You don't tell me much about yourself."

"There's not much to tell you about," Chase eased the question off and stole a recipe book from the shelf. He grabbed a seat near the brunette and began to read.

Akari immaturely stuck her tongue out at him. This did not go unnoticed by the young patissier, who returned the action by sticking his tongue out in an uninterested fashion.

Akari had visited the local inn after her crops and animals had been tended after. In fact, she did this quite often and would occasionally bring Chase gifts of fresh vegetables or juices. Typically the farmer would request a meal and chat with the male cook about certain recipes or how their day had gone. However, he always kept up his indifferent front.

This day was like all the rest; Akari would demand knowing more about Chase and Chase would shrug off the question.

Or perhaps this day wasn't going to be like all the rest.

"Hey, Chase," a saccharine voice originated from the ranchers mouth, "Want to play a game?"

Chase continued to read his book as he drawled out, "Hm? What _kind of_ game?"

Akari smiled to herself inwardly, happy to know that the young chef was the type to play games. Enthused about his reluctance, she beamed and started shouting her explanation. "Akari's" - she said this while flinging her hands violently about – "Magnificent Fun-Time Question Game!"

Chase lifted his head up and stared at her blankly.

Akari looked back at him with hopeful eyes, and a bright smile, excited by the thought that Chase might agree to play this game.

"You require loads of attention, don't you?" Chase said flatly.

Akari's face fell, and she slumped back into the chair. A slight melancholy overtook her as she wondered why she even _tries_ to get to know Chase more. The farmer sighed heavily and stood from the table.

She turned to the rest of the townspeople in the inn and waved her goodbye, promptly leaving Chase, confused, in the dust.

That was the reason.

That was the reason why Akari would get frustrated whenever she tried to get to know the chef. His personality was smothering. The way he flippantly pushed off all who wanted to know him perturbed the farmer. She, herself, was rather blunt and would do some of the same things as Chase. However, she revelled in annoying the young man. Always donning an outrageously positive persona, the farmer would speak with him whenever she noticed he was free.

"Damn sarcastic bastard," Akari whispered to herself as she walked home, kicking the rocks beneath her feet. She pushed her gloved hands into her pockets. The end of summer brings about the bitter cold of fall. Though Akari was never one to dislike a season, specifically her favourite one, Waffle Island had quite cold temperatures even in autumn.

She looked up to the sky – it was turning orange. Noting this, she knew she should hurry along home, lest be out during the night. Though the island wasn't a dangerous place or anything (minus the soulless bears here and there) she had come from the city. As one might note, cities can impact someone to being very paranoid at certain times and fear for one's safety. And though she was getting used to the island, she still hadn't completely overhauled her past.

She walked the winding road to her farm. She had chosen the one closest to the mines, because she was, quite frankly, a bit too lazy to maintain crops. Though, she _had_ recently been trying quite hard to run a successful farm.

One more turn and she was at her house. Akari called her animals into their respected holdings and shuffled back into her home and made her way to her bed.

The morning brought about a new day.

A new day full of chores.

The farmer went about her daily tasks into the afternoon, until a monster had popped into her sights.

Akari hid behind her shipping box staring at that _thing_ in her grass field. Never before in her life had she ever seen such a beast. It was massive - huge and a bit intimidating. She nervously wondered if she should go up to it.

But its ugliness might be contagious. She didn't want to risk that.

"Ostriches are so cute when their young. Then they grow up and look like a penis with feathers," she mumbled out, making sure the thing couldn't hear her.

Akari looked up at her, now full grown, ostrich. She named it Phil. It was one of the only names the owners at Brownie Ranch didn't suggest. They were very adamant about the farmer giving her new pet a weird nickname. But Akari wasn't the type to run around shouting obscure names while trying to get whatever animal it was to come to her. Phil was also the least clichéd and 'fluffy' nickname for a bird, she thought.

"It's… It's just so ugly that I don't want to ride it anymore. I should've just bought a horse."

She cautiously walked up to the large bird; she stopped. There was something about that bird that seemed off. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew something was wrong with it. Giving it a look over once more, she tried to figure out what it was. She got it. The bird looked paranoid. _Too_ paranoid. Then it hit her like lightning.

Akari gasped, assuming that the bird could smell the fear in her very soul.

Attempting to be intimidating, she fingered the sickle at her side. She spat some saliva onto the ground next to her and glared at the beast.

"This town isn't big enough for the both of us, Phil," she snarled. "Now you're going to –"

A melodious whistle cued behind her, impeding her attack on the animal. She spun around to see who or what had produced the classic Old Western-battle-sound.

"You really _do_ require loads of attention," Chase smirked at the big-eyed farmer.

She scoffed at him and turned her back to his figure, "Oh, shut up. You go to hell. You go to hell and you die." Her eyes fixated back to Phil, who still looked paranoid, and now confused.

"Ouch, that hurt me deep, Blondie."

"I'm a brunette, not a blonde, idiot."

Chase snickered while moving closer to her, "For someone who likes to imitate old Westerns, you really don't know your classics."

Akari relaxed her hand and removed it from the sickle; instead, she wrapped her calloused fingers around a brush. The sun was high and the end of summer heat festered over her body. She moved towards her cows and began brushing them, ignoring Chase.

"Your animals look happy."

"…"

"I see you've started harvesting your watermelons."

"…"

"There are a lot of recipes that use watermelons."

"…"

"Like watermelon chiffon pie or watermelon granita. Though, the later takes a while to cook."

"Chase, why the hell are you talking about my watermelons?"

"They look ripe and juicy. How could I resist?"

If anyone were to walk by and casually eavesdrop in the conversation at this point, they would have gotten a very different opinion of the two. Then again, that joke was quite obvious – and planted by the bemused chef, who hoped someone would misconstrue the conversation and make Akari flustered.

"You could resist by not visiting my farm, for one." Akari said in an annoyed tone.

"I get it. You're angry at me. Why?" Chase stated exasperated.

Akari turned around fuming, throwing her hands around and stomping the ground like a tantrum child, "Because you're a stupid, stupid ass! That's why! You… Guh. Jeez, I don't even know why I try to be friends with you."

"Whoa, calm down, I can hear you from here," Chase drawled.

"… You'll never learn." The farmer turned around, now focusing on collecting wool from her sheep.

She didn't want to talk to him anymore. She was done. He was too annoying and would never truly listen to whatever she says. Today was the last straw. Though, she figured she would miss his cooking expertise, since she was always horribly crippling in that area.

A large sigh came from behind her. "What's your game again?"

Akari's tiny ears perked up. She slowly turned her head to look at him.

Smirking confidently, then deciding on taking an indifferent air, she spoke, "Oh? You want to know about Akari's Magnificent Fun-Time Question Game?"

"I'll bite."

"Fine. The rules are simple: for every dish I give you, I'll ask you a question, and you'll answer it. Then we can sit back and watch our friendship blossom."

Chase's face paled as he remembered the last dish Akari had made for him. Well, he _tried_ to. All he could recall was a horrid taste in his mouth, and then everything went black.

Then he saw God's face. Or was it Jin's face? He couldn't quite remember.

Chase came back to reality and coughed into his hand, attempting to cough out the memory of past horrible tastes. The chef cleared his throat and compromised, "How about for every dish you ship, you can ask a question and all answer it?"

"Even better. I get money and become better friends with you. Let's start tomorrow," her hands grabbed for Chase's in ruthless exuberance; she started shaking them violently with a glare of determination in her eyes.

Chase nervously laughed at her excitement.

"Just what have I gotten myself into?"

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**Request by the authoress: Want to know something about Chase? Write your question in a review or a message to me, and I'll try to work it into the story. =D**

**Authoress note:** I'm probably going to use 15-20 questions or so. Y'know, make it equal to the number of dishes you need to ship for his request. So, if anyone wants to know something about Chase (That I will make up, but try to keep it true to his personality.) ask away! The questions can be anything, really. Like, "What's your favourite colour?" "What's your sign?" "Etc?"

Just try to make the question something that wouldn't be found in the video game. 'Cause that's boring to write~

Be fun and creative and thanks for reading!


	2. Splat

Gil or Gill? I don't know. I'm going with Gill because thinks that that's how to spell his name.

BIG THANKS to all my reviewers. You all get gold stars. And perhaps maybe some random shout out in the story? 'Cause I want this story to be very interactive for you guys.

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**THE GAME**

_Splat._

"Splat?"

There might have been a splat.

Upon further investigation, there was a definite splat.

A definite splat on the top of her head.

Pulling her hands down from the top of her head, she cringed. _She had been shat on._

Never once in Akari's entire life has she ever been shat on. And she was hoping that it would never happen.

She was also hoping that she would never be shat on in a public place. Specifically, a place with people. Even more specifically, a place with people on the day of the Summer Flea Market.

Akari's eyes darted around, scanning the faces of everyone there, hoping to every religious figurehead that no one had noticed. Though Akari was one to be daring and not embarrassed by that much, she had an image to maintain. Images are often pretty hard to maintain when one has shit on their brain.

A hand grabbed her elbow with a force that made her spin around in confusion and paranoia. That's when her eyes rested on the sparkling blue eyes of Maya. Now, they were friends, not great or best, but they were friends nonetheless. But this time, Akari had to rack her brain to figure out how Maya would view this picture of her. She was a bit childish at times, so she could laugh at her. But the blonde seemed too sweet to do something like that. She only hoped she was correct.

"Akari, there's something on your head," she stated.

Akari sheepishly smiled back at the young girl, "Oh? Really? Do you have a napkin?"

"Napkin? Why, what is it?"

Akari's face felt hot. "Uh… well, you see. It's…"

"It's bird feces. Clean it off," said a demanding voice.

Akari looked to the voice, already noting that it belonged to Gill. Noticing a small lilac handkerchief in his outstretched hand, her mouth formed an 'o' and she quickly squeaked out a 'thank you.' When the faint sound of Maya suppressing giggles came to her ears though, she made a mental note to take revenge later.

She began to clean her head when she wondered why he was here in the first place. She had never noticed Gill at the Spring Flea Market. Though it could be because she always got there in the early morning or maybe never noticed him before; she wasn't that observant with people. Or buildings. Or glass doors. Especially glass doors.

Snapping out of her reverie she decided that it would be best to ask him, and hoped it would take some of her own embarrassment away.

"Gill, I'm curious. If you could please elucidate me about this conundrum," her mastery of the English language was clearly evident, or at least attempted, "Why are you here?"

He stared directly into Akari's eyes then ran his hand through his hair, as he often did, "Father tends to… go off on his own a lot. I need to make sure that he wouldn't sell any of our stuff."

"Well, I'm sure the Mayor isn't going to do something like that. I think he's too kind to accept money from people anyways," Akari expressed.

Maya smiled brightly and added a simple nod, "And he's smart enough to not sell anything _that_ bad."

Gill stared at both girls in a displeasing manner. He sighed and in a more lighthearted, yet clearly annoyed voice, begun his story. "A couple years ago, father had decided that it would be a 'wonderfully fantastical' – his words, not mine – idea to sell some of _our_ stuff at the flea market. Now, clearly, I was just a young boy at this time so I didn't think that he could do much harm. So I didn't voice _that much_ concern when he gathered things from our house. Cutlery, furniture, paintings, stuff like that. The whole week he would waddle around the house looking for items, while I went to the town hall and studied.

"Then the flea market came. At that time, this island was thriving, and we had more people – different people – who would come to our festivals in search of things that only this island could offer. It was half way through the festival when I thought that I should check to see how father was doing. He was quite boastful over what he sold. That is, until I told him he was an idiot for selling a certain 'thing.'"

Gill paused, looking up in nostalgia. His face paled, and he looked sick. Akari assumed that this was a traumatic moment in Gill's life.

The girl exchanged looks of confusion and focused their eyes back to Gill. "So what exactly was this 'thing'?" Akari asked.

Gill sighed heavily and returned to the story, "As you know, my father can be, for lack of a better word, a 'scatter-brain.' Well, what he _thought _was a deed to a plot of land near Mt. Gelato, was in fact the deed to the city."

Both girls gasped at the horrible stupidity of their Mayor, while Gill simply nodded his head in disappointment.

"Did he get it back?!" Maya screamed.

Gill and Akari gave her blank looks. Clearly, they did not want to tackle the question that had such an obvious answer.

Akari looked back up to Gill, "So that's all you're here for?"

"Yes. Now – wait, excuse me. I think father is buying something asinine again."

Maya and Akari waved goodbye to the young gentlemen. They watched him, in amusement, express his undesired feeling for a hideous chesterfield that was about to be sold to the mayor.

The girls looked back toward each other and giggled.

"Akari, it's almost time for the Flea Market to close, want to buy any last minute items?"

"No thanks. I should go now. Bye!" With that sentiment, Akari swiftly walked away from the elaborately decorated festival. She knew that whoever was left at the end was in charge of cleaning it up, and she was a bit too lazy to do that.

One step at a time, she neared the heart of Waffle Town. That's when something came to her ears. It was a crash. And there was another one. And another.

She searched the perimeter looking for the sound when her eyes caught the figure of the young cook, trying to put a box of fruit together. She snickered. For a man who worked with his hands, Chase had a tendency for being a bit clumsy. Akari decided, after watching him frantically try to save the wounded bananas that he was in need of help.

"Excuse me, Chase. But do you need a hand?"

"No, I've got two perfectly fine ones, thanks."

He was also one to refuse help. He preferred his way.

Akari kneeled down beside him, and looked at the crate. It had been broken on one of the sides, due to a few nails falling out. She assumed that's why he was putting all the fruits in his apron. Swinging her rucksack over her shoulder and placing it in front of her, she grabbed for her hammer.

Chase continued to pick the berries off the ground, while focusing his peripheral vision on Akari. He noticed her pick up some nails and begin to hammer them into the box. After a while, she was done and stared at him triumphantly.

"Such shoddy workmanship; they aren't even aligned properly."

Akari slumped down and threw her hands about again, "Oh yeah, like you can do any better, fruit boy!"

Chase had begun to pick the leftover fruit form the ground and place them into the crate. Akari followed suit. Once all the produce was placed away, Chase stood up. He took one look down at Akari, and cringed.

"You smell like shit."

"And you look like it."

Chase snickered, "Are you still angry?"

"No, I just got shat on."

"You should enjoy that. It's good for your scalp. And I think I read somewhere that Hitler was into stuff like that."

"… Do I look like Hitler to you?"

Chase grabbed the pen he used to write recipes down with, and drew a small moustache under Akari's nose. He stepped back and made a picture frame with his hands, tongue out in concentration and closing one eye to focus on her. He tilted his head, hands and body until he was in the perfect position to get all of Akari in his imaginary shot.

With the most lame French accent he could muster he said, "Ohhoho, you are ze greatest work of art since ze Mona Lisa, _mon petite chou_."

"… You speak French, now?"

Chase smirked and drawled, "I am a very cultured man, you know."

"If by cultured you mean deranged."

"If by deranged you mean sexy."

"Arrogant, are we? I thought that was Gill's job?"

"He's on break," Chase shrugged. Picking up his crates of ingredients and bringing them back to the inn, Akari following in tow. "See you tomorrow! I'll be waiting for your 'oh-so-important' question."

Akari huffed, walked over to a shipping box, and dropped in a plate of homemade failure dish. It wasn't the greatest in the world, and the ingredients were mangled, but at least it was something.

She made her way home, this time taking the scenic route, hands in her pockets. When she reached her door, she calmly opened it, and fell onto the bed, thinking of a question to ask of Chase.

* * *

**Request by the authoress: Want to know something about Chase? Write your question in a review or a message to me, and I'll try to work it into the story. =D**

**Authoress note:** So you want to know what Chase said. That 'mon petite chou' thing? I shall enlighten you! As a Canadian (I don't come from the French side, you're welcome. I actually come from the side with the drugs and the booze, you're welcome.) I am required to know both English and French. Though, my French skills fail me sometimes. Kay, a lot of times. That 'mon petite chou' phrase will never go away. So impress your friends with this simple and hilarious French phrase!

'Mon petite chou' means 'my small cabbage' and is meant in a complimentary way. I would assume, being a chef, that he'd know the word for cabbage in French. It only makes sense.

Also impress them by saying you're cultured because you listen to the German Punk-Rock band 'Die Toten Hosen.' Then when people ask you what it means, say, "The Dead Pants!" People will look up to you for your knowledge and awesomocity.

And bloody hell, I should really be finishing up my art projects instead of writing. -isshot-


	3. Q1 Fishing and Music

Again, thank you for the magnificent reviews! As a present, here's the next chapter!

Also note, this is a pre-early/light fluff chapter. Or a pre-my type o' early/light fluff chapter.

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**THE GAME**

There is a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot.

Akari had crossed that line a _long_ time ago.

That's not to say that she didn't catch anything – she had. In fact, she had caught a lot of something. But that something wasn't exciting in the least.

Drawing her rod back, she looked down to her fishing pile.

"You'd think there'd be more naked people in Waffle town considering how many damn swim shorts I fish up," Akari mumbled.

She quickly gathered up her things, shoving all the items into her tiny rucksack. Sighing at her catches of the day, she fumbled to the main streets, walking to the Maple Lake District. Well, she _tried_ to walk to the district, that is. Until she collided with a random blue and white blur that whizzed past her.

Akari collapsed; hands recoiling back to stabilize her fall. With big eyes, she quickly shook her head. Standing up, she dusted herself off and fixed her hat. Her head still smelled a bit horrible, but the hat smothered the odor, to which she was thankful. Remembering the direction of the blur, she took off immediately to the town square.

"There... there's no sign of it?" Akari questioned her surroundings. Then he eyes fixated on a tiny slip of blue and watched as the door to the Town Hall closed. She smirked, _'Target locked.'_Speed-walking over to the door, she made sure everything on her was in place and looked proper. Gill was never as sarcastic as Chase, but he had high standards on who was near him. High standards, that ever since moving to the island, she felt that she had to keep. Lest she be called out by Gill and put to treason for disobey 'the royal subject's orders.'

She slowly turned the door-handle; the room was a jungle of madness. Papers were flying every which way, chairs toppled over in random places. There was some sort of food hanging off of a light fixture, which Akari thought it looked similar to string cheese. There was no other way to put it, other than 'the room looked like a mess.'

Tip-toeing over documents thrown over the ground, her knee caps bludgeoned by various miscellanea, she made her way to the front counter.

"Excuse me, Elli, dear. Why are you running around like that?" Akari asked, an eyebrow lifting up in question.

"Gill lost something!" Elli shouted back, attempting to pick up all the files that had littered the floor.

"Oh... Hey! Wait!" Akari acclaimed, spinning her rucksack about and digging into it, "I think I have his shorts!"

Elli straightened her back and let out a sigh. She cocked her head and stared at the pair of pants in front of her, "Uh, no. Gill lost his diary actually."

"Pfft. Gill owns a diary?" Akari giggling at the thought, throwing a hand over her mouth for an added effect. Some slight mumbling coming from her left caught her attention as she craned her head to see where the noise had been emitting. That's when she caught sight of Gill, defiantly not looking as insane as Elli, but she figured that talking to him self would be insane enough for him. Though, she herself had a habit of talking to herself when on her ranch, but as a lonely young girl on a ranch, it only made sense.

She put the shorts back into her rucksack and swung it over her shoulder again. Walking over to a mumbling Gill, she overheard his monologue. He was rattling off something about losing his diary around town, when he felt a presence behind him. He casually looked over his shoulder as his face blanched when he caught site of the enthusiastic farmer.

"Were you... listening by any chance?"

Grabbing his hands in hers, she stared at him with big eyes, "I understand your pain, Gill! No woman should be without her diary! I shall go find it for you!"

Gill blinked, "No. No, you needn't do that. I wouldn't want you looking into it. I'll find it myself."

Akari noted that he glossed over the woman comment, to her relief. Though Gill could joke around, she'd assume he wouldn't be too happy by being called a female. She dropped her hands, letting go of his, and plainly smiled back at him, "Alright, I guess you can go find it by yourself. But if you ever need help finding it, you know who to call! I've always been the master at hide-and-seek! Bye!"

She giggled and waved her leave to them, casually walking out of the door. Smiling to herself, she was proud that she solved the mystery of the blur. Now she was ready to solve the mystery of the naked people of Waffle Town.

She looked up to the sky, now noticing how dark it was becoming. She'd have to return home and bring her animals (and monster) back in doors.

Akari skipped down the stairs into the main streets, and turned the corner to her typical pathway. She paused; something felt wrong.

She sneezed.

"Oh... That was all," Akari giggled, and continued walking.

She sneezed again.

"I don't have a cold do I?" Akari questioned.

She sneezed for a third time.

"Why am I sneezing?" Her arms flailed wildly as she yelled.

Her ears caught a faint snickering sound coming from above her head. She glared up and noticed the cook was beating an old Inn rug out, smiling widely at her displeasure.

"Excuse me, but could you stop being so rude?"

"Rude? I don't know to _what _you are referring," Chase said obliviously.

Another glare.

"See? Now you don't even know what you were talking about," He chirped happily.

"You're such a god-damned pig, you know that? Whenever I try to talk to you, or even act a little considerate, you become rude and sarcastic! You know what you are? You're a sponge. A god-damned ugly sponge! I talk, talk, and talk to you. And you just don't absorb it and throw it back at me as an insult! I try to learn more about you. Try to get you to like me. Why don't you like me? I brush my hair, I comb my teeth; I'm a fucking humanitarian, y'know! You should love me! You should adore me! You should cook me more food. You don't even cook me food, and you're profession is a chef. It's aggravating; I try so hard to be friends with you, but you don't care. You don't listen. You _never_ listen."

"Hm? Were you saying something?" Chase asked dryly.

"… I give up."

Chase smiled with a small laugh, "Want to come in for a drink? I noticed you shipped a dish."

Akari glanced back at him, "I'm only coming in because I'm thirsty and I want to ask you a question."

"Oh, I'm hurt. You don't want to see me?"

"Go die!"

Akari stormed into the bar and noisily took a table. She crossed her arms, and closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down.

"So your question is…?" Chase drawled, pushing her to hurry up. He placed a cocktail down beside her, which she hurriedly grabbed and drank in a flash.

"My question? Oh, my question. It's 'what is your favourite type of music?'"

"That's the best you could come up with?' Chase asked dryly.

"Shut up! You can learn a lot about a person through music!"

Chase chortled, "You sure are strange. Well, personally, I prefer indie rock or classic rock. I enjoy Sufjan Stevens."

"What's a Sufjan Stevens?"

"Noun; a very amazing musician. I'll lend you one of his CDs sometime. Though, I don't think you're _intelligent_ enough to like him."

"I am very intelligent! I, sometimes, listen to classical!"

"You must be great fun at parties," Chase said dryly.

"It's not like I _only_ listen to classical. I love all styles of music!"

"So you have no taste in music."

"No, I like everything!"

"People who 'like everything' have no taste because their taste is everything. It's a loop," Chase explained logically.

"Oh, shut up! I'm leaving!" Akari fumed, trying to viciously walk away, when she felt a tug on her wrist. She followed her shoulder, to her elbow, to her wrist, and noticed that Chases hand was attached to it. "Will you let me go?"

"I have a question for you now," he stated seriously. After noting the acknowledgement on Akari's face, he let go of her wrist and in a more lighthearted fashion asked, "The Firefly Festival is tomorrow, would you like to go with me?"

"Who would?!" Akari yelled, again storming to the door of the inn.

Chase blinked back at her, mouth gapped and a bit of hurt in his eyes.

Akari turned around, violently shouting, "7. The Falls. Don't be late!"

Chase watched Akari slam the door to the inn, and smirked to himself, _'This'll be interesting.'_

* * *

**Request by the authoress: Want to know something about Chase? Write your question in a review or a message to me, and I'll try to work it into the story. =D**

**Authoress note:** Chase would hate me. –likes a lot of stuff- D; Chase seems like the type of guy that would be into obscure music because he'd want to show off how unintelligent others are.

I'm not sure if you guys have noticed yet, but I'm going by Harvest Moon calendar. One chapter would typically be one day. (Unless stated otherwise)

I have Summer the 25th nearly finished, so I'm off to write the 24th, aka a fluff chapter. Wish me luck. ;-;

Now, a question for all of you; what is _your_ favourite type of music? 8D


	4. Q2 Fireflies, Fashion and Farming

Summer 24 and 25 – Firefly Festival  
Q2 - Fireflies, Fashion and Farming

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews!

And they shouldn't be too romance-y and dramatic at this point. So cha~ Have fun reading~

**

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THE GAME**

A bird's nest.

She _swore_ it was a bird's nest.

Actually, not even a nest, more like a hurricane of hair.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Drool marks dried onto the bottom of her jaw, imprints from the pillow made an intricate pattern of crevasses on her face. Her hair was frizzy and all over the place. She sighed dejectedly.

"This… is so wrong," she said, her voice haggard.

Grabbing her brush she attempted to tame her wild hair, only making some strands break and fall out.

"This can't be happening," Akari grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. She traipsed over to her phone and scrolled through the numbers.

Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, bingo.

Carefully dialing the number, while yawning in the process, she waited for the ring. Once the ring was heard she readied herself for, what she would guess, would be the chirpy voice of Julius. Ever since he had moved in he offered her a lot of fashion help. Not that she used most of it; she would just listen to him. She figured if she had to listen to a fashion-conscious person she'd choose Juli over the brat at the clothing shop any day.

"Hello there," emitted a cheery voice from the other side.

"… Akari. Hair a mess. Help," Akari mumbled out as best she can, still attempting to wake up. Despite having to wake up at the crack of dawn she always had troubles in the morning. Mainly due to the fact that she was not, in any way, a morning person. It always took her a long time to wake-up, which lead to unfortunate and embarrassing situations for her livestock.

"Oh dear! That's no good! Should I come over? I have some products-"

"No Julius. Just tell me how to fix it. Frizzy. Ick."

"Well, I can tell you for sure without seeing it. But knowing your hair, you need to do a lot."

"Can you just tell me a solution?" Akari rushed.

"Oh my, you're quite snippy about this, aren't you, love? Oh well," said Julius, adding a dramatic pause for effect, "Do you have any fruits?"

"… What?"

Julius giggled from the other line, "Oh, you _do_ need my help! Poor kitty, it's alright. Wash your hair then use the citrus juices for an added effect. The light from the fireflies will make your hair look _fabulous_."

Akari groaned, "I don't need anything amazing for the festival. My hair is just being terrible. And citrus? Why? Won't that make my head sticky?"

"Ohhohoho~ Do you _dare_ question the master, love? It's what I use."

"You do know best Juli. Thanks."

"Oh Akari, flattery will get you everywhere."

"… Quite. Goodbye."

"Ciao!"

Hanging up the phone, Akari rummaged for the cure to her unruly bed head as suggested by Julius. Taking fruits from her fridge she grabbed a clean change of clothes and went about her day.

* * *

Akari was early. Or maybe he was late. She assumed the asker should be there before the askee, but she didn't need to complain about that. She would, however, complain about the bugs as she swatted away a spider that had begun to crawl near her.

"Thanks for waiting."

Akari craned her head up towards Chase, "Late."

"Early. By a minute."

"Whatever. Sit."

Chase smiled and kneeled down; beginning to sit with his arms back, holding his torso upright. It was dark, and he could barely make out the face of Akari. Looking up to the sky, he noticed that the fireflies hadn't come out yet.

"I shipped a dish, you know."

"That's nice, dear."

"Therefore you have to answer my question."

"That's nice, dear."

"So why do you have those things in your hair anyway? Isn't that a bit gay?"

"That's nice – wait what? And I'm not gay," Chase corrects himself, now centering his concentration on the girl beside him while trying to understand the question.

"The bobby pins. Why?" Akari turned her head to him, squinting to try and notice his features in the dark.

"You can't be serious," Chase chortled.

"No, I'm serious. At the Art Festival last year you said something like, 'Oh, I'm not interested in an Art Festival. I'm not picky with my clothes and I don't wear accessories.' But then I though, 'Well then, what the hell are those?' Because _obviously_ they are accessories. Then i wondered why you'd even need them in the first place."

"I work in a kitchen, I need something to put my hair out of my eyes," Chase explained.

"But you don't have them on the other side," Akari retorted.

"I don't need them on the other side."

"… What? Is your hair perpetually frozen there or something?"

"No. I just prefer them on the other side."

"Then why three?"

"Three's my favourite number."

"Oh," Akari processed the information, trying to understand Chase's logic. She still had no clue as to why he only had them on one side. She decided that some things about Chase would always be a mystery, and that would be one of them.

"Shh, Akari it's starting. If you're too loud they'll get spooked."

They both calmed their voices, watching the fire flies torrent up and around the waterfall. The darkness of the night was illuminated by the tiny bugs. As they floated about Akari felt more relaxed, stretching her arms, she yawned. There was always something about this festival that made Akari sleepiness. Maybe it was because it was so peaceful and quiet. Maybe it was because it felt so surreal; she couldn't pinpoint it. Her eyelids slowly started to droop down, nearly closing themselves until she heard something from her side.

"What's that smell?"

"Hm?" Akari stared at him quizzically.

"This whole time… I've smelled something. Something fruity."

"Are you sure it's not yourself?"

"Ha ha," Chase said dryly. Moving his body closer to Akari's he lifted an arm and wrapped it around her shoulder. She glanced up, noticing Chase's smiling face close his eyes and smell her hair. Blushing, slightly confused by his close contact, she decided to focus her attention onto the fireflies swirling about.

"No. It's your hair. What did you do to it? Dump it in juice?"

"Kind of."

"Why?" Chase brought his arm back to its original position and edged away from her a bit.

"My hair was a mess today, okay?" Akari shouted her eyes still fixated on the moving bugs.

Chase stared, surprised at her little outburst over such a tiny question. Lately he found himself being more sarcastic to the young farmer, and she had been getting more emotional over what he had been saying. He smirked, deciding he should lighten up on her for just today at least. "It's nice."

Akari whipped her head around to him, "What did you say?"

"I said it's nice. Oranges and lemons. It smells delicious. It really suits you."

"I can't believe you just said that!" Akari shifted her body until she faced him, now fascinated by the chef's words.

Chase recoiled back with an agitated face, "What does that mean? I _can_ be a gentleman!"

"Mhmm," Akari closed her eyes, bring her legs up to her chest and hugging them tightly. "Chase, can I tell you something?"

Chase relaxed, bringing a hand up to his cheek and scratching it slightly, "Yeah, sure. Shoot."

"I don't know why I'm here. Farming, I mean. I have no clue why I wanted to become a farmer. I just woke up, went about my day, noticed that flyer and decided to come over here. I don't think I can make it, though. I'm terrible with crops, and my animals don't like me that much. I can't produce proper vegetables, they're all just decent. I've been here for a while, yet I haven't made many friends. I just - I don't think I can do this anymore. I'm really scared that if I continue I'm going to let the whole town down, you know? The town depends on farmers."

"Do you enjoy it?"

"Besides waling up at the crack of dawn, the calluses, the being attacked by my own livestock in the beginning, the collapsing, the running out of money and having to get more, the sleeping on a straw bed-"

"You sleep on a straw bed?"

"That's not the point Chase," Akari mumbled, "Even if one of those changed it wouldn't be the same. I love farming. I just don't think I'm good enough."

"I think you're amazing," Chase smiled at her, raising a hand to ruffle her hair, "I've never seen any one work as hard. It's really inspiring. Nobody expects you to be perfect; you're just starting."

"But I've been at this for a year and still nothing!"

"Did I tell you about the first time I tried to make Chicken noodle soup?"

Akari stared at him, "I don't see where this is going."

Chase turned around to face her, hands ready to mime certain parts, "I bought this packaged Chicken noodle soup at a grocery store once. I hadn't really cooked anything before that day, and I was fairly confident. I assumed since it came in a package, it'd be easier to cook. So I took it home, and read through the directions. Took out the points, pour everything in, added extra noodles and made sure the temperature was fine. When it started to bubble I put the top of the pot on it and went into the next room and watch TV. Then I heard a boom and quickly ran into the kitchen. The soup had exploded all over the kitchen, I was horrified. I didn't want to cook anything after that. But now, look at where I am in my cooking!"

"And this relates to me how?"

Chase sighed and his body slumped. Looking up again, he placed a hand on her shoulder, "I was terrible at cooking in the beginning. But after awhile, I got better. I kept working at it. Soon I could cook dishes that I never could before; get it? It's a metaphor. You are old me."

"Can I be new you? I hate being the old you! I feel so terrible!" Akari whined, her eyes glossing over with fresh tears.

"You're such a crybaby," Chase smiled lightly at her. He moved closer to her. An arm snaked around Akari's waist and another went into her hair. He felt her body tense up, causing Chase to squeeze the farmer gently. He chastized lightly, "If you don't shut up, the fireflies will leave."

Akari pouted, and grabbed the top of Chase's apron for a more comfortable position against his body. Attempting to calm herself down she closed her eyes as Chase's hand gently stroked her hair.

Smiling down at the girl, he could feel her breaths becoming more routine as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Akari yawned. Stretching herself out she swung her legs over her bed.

Something wasn't right. No, something was defiantly not right.

"Mornin' Sleeping Homely," Chase chirped happily.

Akari blinked.

She was hallucinating, she had to be hallucinating.

Akari rubbed her eyes again and looked down at her clothes. The same clothes as yesterday. She looked up and saw the figure of Chase, singing along to some song she had never heard, glancing at some of her recipe books. He turned around and faced her, smiling widely.

_'Clearly he's a morning person,'_ thought Akari, thoroughly annoyed at his presence.

Still in a sleepy daze, she got up and grabbed him by the collar. Dragging the chef to the front door, she questioned his attendence.

"Chase, why are you here?"

The cook stopped his singing and retracted his arms, turning off the music, and smiling brightly, "You fell asleep, so I brought you here."

"Chase, why are you _still_ here?"

"To give you an answer to your question," Chase smiled, "And to hand you the CD I told you about. But you're really not much of a morning person. How sad."

"Chase, get the hell out of my house."

"You know, your conversational skills have really deteriorated."

"Chase, go fall down a well."

She then pushed him out of her house and slammed the door.

* * *

**Request by the authoress: Want to know something about Chase? Write your question in a review or a message to me, and I'll try to work it into the story. =D**

Authoress note: Citrus oils are good for keeping the shine of your hair.

I… I… still can't comprehend why it's only on one side… It's just… No. Chase… No…

And does anyone remember his quote at the Art Festival? -just pasted her Fall Seaon in her game again- I NEVER noticed that he said that. Seriously, wth?

-brianhurt-


	5. Luke and the Ostrich

HERRO. I AM BACK. FROM A LOT OF STUFF. But do not worry, I have like oodles of chapters done. Maybe more. I just need to edit and upload. ;D AND THE WORDS ARE THE BOTTOM THAT ARE BOLDED ARE IMPORTANTE.

* * *

**THE GAME**

Akari had always wondered why ostriches had that mechanism.

Now she realized it was to protect themselves from dangerous predators.

Today, Akari had found out the most dangerous predator of the ostrich.

Luke.

"Look, look, look! Akari, Akari! Its head's in the sand! How cool is that? Do you think I can do that? I think I can! Do you have more soil? Never mind, I'll use this stuff right here. Oh, hey, a watermelon! Akari, this isn't fully grown yet. Why would you harvest this if it's not fully grown? Oh well. I'm sure it still tastes good. Hey Akari, Akari, are you watching me? Are you watching me? Watch this! I can do it I swear!"

Today, Akari learned that you shouldn't tell Luke you have an ostrich. It'll only lead to problems.

"Akari, did you see that? I did it! But I couldn't breathe, so I had to bring my head up again. How do you suppose ostriches breathe under all that? Do they breathe through holes in their bodies?"

"You mean pores?"

"Ew, that's disgusting."

Today, Akari learned that conversing with Luke took a lot of her energy. The carpenter was a bit too much to handle when like this.

Luke smiled widely and fell to the ground, resting on his back, "'Kay, so you came from the city and decided to work on a farm?"

"Yes," Akari responded, putting down a spinach plate for him to eat. He sat up, quickly inhaled it, and laid back down again, seemingly content. It didn't matter if her ingredients were off or she cooked it in a different way; Luke always enjoyed her spinach dishes. She assumed he didn't own taste buds.

"Wooooweee! It sure is hot out, right?" Luke squinted his eyes from the sun. When that didn't stop the glare, he pulled his bandana over his eyes to solve the problem. "What makes a city girl want to come to a dingy farm?"

Luke rolled over onto his stomach, placing his elbows in the grass, and propping up his head with his arms. Lifting his bandana up, his cat-like gaze penetrated Akari's back. She was busy trying to salvage the watermelon Luke had pulled out while impersonating an ostrich. She shrugged to him, placing the watermelon back in its place, and began patting the surrounding area with sand.

"You don't know?" Luke looked at her quizzically. Then he beamed, slamming his hands down in excitement, "So it's an adventure!"

Akari turned her head, to catch him in her peripheral, back still turned to him. She sighed heavily and dryly said, "Sure, Luke. It's an adventure."

"That's so awesome! I love adventures! This one time-"

Akari decided to tune him out. As much as she liked Luke, he could get a bit too hyper in some cases. He would visit the young farmer often. Mainly due to the fact that Akari didn't mind making spinach dishes out of her leftover decent or good produce. However, after he found out that he could mooch his favourite food off of her a lot, he had come up with reasons for why they should talk to each other more. The more they talked, the more Luke felt himself getting comfortable with her. The more they talked, the more brain cells Akari thought were dying.

"-massive! And I though that _I_ had eaten a lot," Luke finished his story with a hearty laugh. This prompted Akari to laugh as well, figuring it would be the best thing to do in that situation.

"Wow, that was an amazing story, Luke."

"Not just amazing, Akari! Awesome, too!"

"Yes, Luke, it was awesome, too," Akari had, since first meeting Luke, been injected by the word 'awesome.' Every day Luke would visit her, and every day Akari made a mental tally of how many times that boy said 'awesome.'

"Aw, but you know what's even more awesome, Akari?"

22.

"Your Spinach cake! How's you learn to make it?"

"I guessed."

"You must be an awesome guesser then!"

23.

Luke began to rise when he notice Akari had finished mending her broken fruit. She stared up at him – he was taller than her by good couple inches – and took his bandana off. She began beating some dirt out of it, and attempted to place it back on his head.

"Ah, I'm too tall. Here," Luke bent over, awaiting to be crowned. Akari, careful not to pull on his hair, put it on his head and adjusted it properly. He stood up and she admired her work with glee.

"Thank you, princess. Now, I must slay the mighty dragon of Praline Woods!" Luke acclaimed, making a very dramatic bow, "See you!"

Akari giggled, "My knight, please do not get maimed. The Waffle Kingdom needs you. Brandish your trusty weapon, Axecaliber and be off! Peace be with you!"

Luke howled in laughter and waved a quite goodbye to Akari, who politely returned it. Akari had grown quite fond of that idiot since she first moved in. When she had just started he offered to teach her a few basic things about using an axe, which she gladly accepted. She had never used an axe before, but knew that it was a necessary tool for running a farm. So she took him up on his offer, and ever since then, they had become great friends. Not to mention that she enjoyed the fact that he was the only one who enjoyed her cooking.

"Speaking of cooking," Akari remembered she had made an extra spinach dish to ship. She was determined to know more about Chase after last night.

Swinging her rucksack around her lithe body, she dug into the bag. She had never been an organized person, not one to follow examples, either, so she always had a hard time keeping orderly. Finally grabbing the half-smashed spinach cake, she lifted it slowly from the bag. She couldn't believe Luke had eaten something _this _burnt. Again, believing that he owned no tastes bud.

Akari shrugged and threw it haphazardly into the shipping bin. She yawned.

"Luke… Luke takes a lot out of a person," she said, feeling her face to see if there were already bags under her eyes.

Deciding she had enough for the day, she walked into her shack. Plopping down on the bed, she, again, tried to think of what to ask Chase.

* * *

NOTE: Ostriches don't actually stick their heads in sand. It's an old wives tale.

G'awwwwww. You guys are so sweet. ;-; I come back from 234234353 many art shows, work, going blonde, a long-ass trip, and school to find reviews and Misty asking me if I'm okay. :3 **You guys are sweet. You all deserve something. A drawing perhaps? What would you like me to draw for you? It can be anything. Like, realistic portrait of Chase, interesting scene, not even about Chase, can be some other person, etc.**

**AND AS ALWAYS, QUESTIONS FOR CHASE ARE, AS LUKE SAYS, AWESOME!**


	6. Q3 A Satire Of Underwear

BOOM! I decided to upload this chapter due to the lack of Chase in the last chapter.

* * *

**THE GAME**

Akari was in distress. Hair-pulling out, projectile vomiting, 'please kill me now' stress.

She needed underwear. _Badly_ needed underwear.

Every week on the farm she would have to say goodbye to one of her favourites. Because of this weekly sacrifice, she was now down to three pairs.

Three already used, full of holes, dirty pairs.

She needed more.

Carefully holding up her underwear, she smelt each one. Finally deciding on the pair with the least horrendous smell, she began applying the rest of her clothes. She sighed heavily, gathering her money together and headed to the town.

As she walked down the winding path she waved at the villagers passing her by. Finally reaching the town, Akari made her way to the clothing store.

A sharp intake of breath, and she pulled the door open and took a step over the threshold.

She blinked. There was fabric everywhere and the slight smell of overheated sewing machines wafted through the air. The pastel colors made it hard for Akari to adjust her eyes to the room.

"Hello! New clothes are over in this section. Come with me!" A high-pitched voice sang out, as the little Luna began to tug on Akari's arm.

"Um, excuse me, but I'm here for something else," Akari attempted to withdraw the annoyance in her tone.

Luna stopped pulling and dropped her hands to the side. She lifted a hand under her chin and critiqued the farmer up and down.

Akari settled in front of the young girl and gave her an awkward wave of the hand.

"Not good enough. Not pretty and not fashionable. You need clothes," Luna stated, all cuteness draining from her form.

"Luna, be nice," Candace chastised as she came running out of the back room, "Hello Akari, what are you here for today?"

"Uh," Akari paused, eyes fixated on a fuming Luna who was trying to get Candace's attention, "Underwear."

Candace's face turned a bit red, "Um. Right this way, please."

Akari followed the blunette to a shelf full of frilly, lacy and flowery underwear. Peering over the elaborately decorated lingerie, she mentally sighed. She wasn't really that type of girl. As a farmer, things like that would get ruined easily.

Noticing the expression on Akari's face, Candace placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled out a drawer on the shelf revealing toned-down briefs. Akari gave her a grateful look and quickly grabbed as many as she could.

Luna caught a look at the garments in the ranchers hand and shook her head, "You'll never impress any guys with those."

Akari stuck her tongue out and walked over to the counter to purchase them.

"Would you like them in a bag?" The elderly lady asked, slowly reaching for one.

"S-sure," Akari accepted, not wanting to make her bend down anymore. She didn't want to have to explain to Jin how she broke an old lady's back.

Akari put the correct amount of money on the counter and reached for the bag. She thanked the three women and walked out of store, trying to hide the contents of the bag from anyone seeing it.

As she opened the door she bumped head first into something. Backing up, she rubbed her nose. Whatever it was smelt like a euphoric mixture of honeysuckle and mandarin.

"Did the poor kitten hurt her nose? Would you like me to kiss it better?" A saccharine sweet tone oozed out of the mouth.

Akari looked up at the painted on face of Julius, who somehow managed to place his arms around her in a daring – and quite suggestive – manner. "No, thank you."

Julius mock cried, "But, my kitten, you must want a kiss from a dashing prince! Or at least some fashion advice?"

"No, thank you," Akari stated, wiggling out of his grasp and turning her back to him.

"Well, then, what should we do today? A lunch date perhaps?" Julius asked, returning to his normal voice and not implying anything sexual, much to Akari's delight.

"Well, I may be going to the inn. I guess you can escort me, if you–"

Akari turned around only to be greeted with the image of Candace and Julius caught in some sort of conversation. Judging by Candace's face, she assumed Julius was attempting to get her to go somewhere with him.

Akari shrugged and mentally promised she'd help Candace avoid Julius later.

Walking down Waffle Town she stopped at the front of the inn. Pausing, she debated whether or not to go in. She was getting quite hungry and had shipped a dish yesterday.

Not sure if it was made with her better judgment, she pushed open the doors of the inn and took a seat. Stretching her arms and legs in the chair, she decided to relax for a while before eating.

Akari dropped her head on the wooden table and closed her eyes. A couple minutes into her resting she heard the chair across from her grind the floorboards.

"How wonderful, I get to see your beautiful face twice in one day. Fortuna must be smiling upon me."

Akari's head lifted from the table drowsily. A red blotch had appeared on the top of her forehead, which she quickly tried to cover up with her hand. "What are you doing here, Julius?"

"You agreed to have a lunch date with me," Julius smiled, the inn lights shone on his lips as he stared gleefully at the girl.

"Mmkay. You're paying, right?"

"A-ha… I would, my darling, but you asked me out. Therefore, you should pay," He continued to smile as he stared at her expectantly.

"… Fine. Fine whatever. But you asked me and I only told you that you could _escort_ me. Not eat with me."

"To each their own!" Julius beamed.

As the day wore on, they had gotten their meals, finished them and continued to chat lightly over drinks.

Julius brought a cocktail to his lips, "So what did you need at the store?"

"Nothing," Akari blurted out.

"Oh, that's good! If it's nothing then you wouldn't mind if I look at it!" Julius attempted to grab the bag from Akari, who at this point was blushing furiously.

"Juli. It's fine. Don't touch it. I'll tell you if you plan on being really quiet about it," Akari tried to reason with him.

Julius nodded his head. Akari loosened her grip on the bag and flashed him what was inside. Julius began to giggle and reached in the bag quickly, grabbing some underwear, causing Akari to flail wildly about and fight back the blush on her face.

"I don't take you for the bunny-on-your-underwear type. But now that I know, I think I need to make you over, princess. The farm life just isn't for you," Julius smiled happily as Akari's forehead met the table with a 'thud!'

"How adorable, _princess_."

Akari bolted upright instantly and froze, "Hello Chase. What a lovely evening it is, don't you think?"

Julius stared at the couple, blinked a couple times and smiled. He grabbed the bag and put the underwear inside of it, "Well, you do know Aka, that I _really _loved you in those lacy ones last night."

"What?" Akari and Chase said simultaneously as they turned their head to face Julius and stared at the man.

"Oh, I'm sorry Chase, but we're talking about something private here, do you mind?" Julius asked in a deviously sweet tone. He got up from his seat and moved his chair beside Akari and began to caress her cheek with his thumb.

"Juli, what's –"

"Akari. Even though the sun disappears at night, my burning love for you will be ever lasting."

"Burning love? Maybe you should get that checked out," Chase deadpanned and stared blankly at Julius. Arms crossed over his chest and his feet planted on the floor.

"What's this? How can you deny such love? You, who are playing the dastardly role of the families, are against the pure love of a Montague and a Capulet?"

"You aren't Romeo and Juliet. You're a transvestite and a pig."

Julius attempted a glare at Chase, though the makeup ruined the image. He stood up, letting go of Akari and kissed her hand as a 'goodbye.' Then he turned and left for the door.

Chase peered at the door as it swung closed. Without turning his head he murmured, "I can't believe that guy."

Akari who had been staring at the door prattled out, "Yeah. I know."

"So you _actually_ wear those things?" Chase teased her as he craned his head back to look at her. He took his dish cloth and began to wipe the table at which Akari was sitting.

"Oh, shut it. I needed underwear and those were the only ones there."

Chase chortled, eyes fixated on the table, "Well, you could've ordered some. Or maybe even got on the boat to go shopping."

"Didn't I tell you to shut it?"

Chase stopped and stared at her. He smiled and stood back up, placing the cloth in his apron's pocket. He made a tick of motion with his head to the door, "C'mon. My shift's over; I'll walk you home."

Akari gawked at Chase's unfounded kindness. She quickly nodded and stood up, grabbing all of her stuff. She didn't expect Chase to be nice enough to walk her home. She walked behind him, half-skipping at how sweet this was of him.

Or maybe not.

Akari smashed into the door of the inn and landed on her butt. Massaging her nose, the door was thrust open and Chase's head popped out innocently, "I told you I would _walk_ you home. Not open doors for you. Hurry up."

Akari stood up and dusted herself off, "Bastard."

The walk out of Waffle Town was silent, Chase was leading by two steps and Akari was walking behind him with her head staring at the road. A light breeze blew through the trees and the rustle of the leaves were heard. The approaching autumn left a chill in the air and the scent of burning fire wood was starting to fill the sky.

Akari looked ahead of her at Chase. He seemed to be in his own world, never once looking back at her. She frowned slightly. He was a bit _too_ quiet, she noted. Akari hadn't spoken to Chase since the Firefly Festival and the morning after, but she did remember how strange he had been acting during those times. She assumed he was sick, his face was more red than usual.

"Don't you have something to ask me?"

The question broke Akari out of her reverie. "What?"

"A question? Y'know? You shipped something yesterday, right? What's your question for me?"

Akari stopped walking and paused on the dirt pathway. She hadn't thought of a question, so she blurted out the first thing on her mind:

"Boxers or briefs?"

Chase suspended himself and gazed at her, "Depends on what I'm doing."

"Depends?"

"Well, if I'm running about, I don't want to wear boxers. Then everything is going to be going every which way. Briefs for sports, boxers for relaxing."

"Oh please, that can't be that bad," Akari scoffed and placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, you're… at least I _think_ you may be a woman, so you wouldn't understand."

"What do you think it's like with breasts, huh? They go everywhere, too!"

"How would you know?"

"'Cause I have them!"

"… Are they detachable? 'Cause I don't see them right now."

"Pervert. Deranged pervert," Akari claimed and began to trek back to her farm. Chase smirked at her form and sped up to walk parallel to her. From the corner of his eyes he could tell she was fuming on the inside, but trying to keep it hidden. As he walked he leaned over and whispered into her ear:

"When cooking, I wear nothing but an apron."

"Nothing? That's really unsanitary," Akari remarked, swinging her arms heavily beside her. Her house was just a few steps away.

"Or is it sexy? 'Cause that blush on your cheeks is telling me you enjoy that image," Chase continued to comment into her ear, keeping a husky tone to his voice.

Akari finally reached her house and opened the door. Spinning on her heel she took one look at him and screamed, "Who'd blush at you, moron?!"

The door slammed shut as Chase's eyes bore into the wood. He was about to turn away when it opened ajar and a small voice was heard, "Thank you for escorting me home,_ asshole._"

* * *

I never understood how in video games or cartoons, the characters always had the _same set of clothing all the bloody time_. Like they never altered it. Then I wondered, "Well, surely, they can't be wearing the same set of underwear… right?" And when there was finally a clothing store in HM, I was all, "NOW IT MAKES SENSE. 8D" But then you couldn't by underwear. So either everyone is going commando or people people have to ship underwear to themselves. but if it's such a rural place, I don't understand how the ship it. Unless it's by boat, but even then. '-'

**On another note; what's the most embarrassing underwear _you_ have?** Mine's probably my metallic gold underwear. (If you've ever seen Rocky Horror Picture Show, think Rocky's gold briefs.)

**AS ALWAYS, QUESTIONS FOR CHASE ARE ALL COOL.**


	7. Q4 Sarcasm and a Present

Her brows furrowed and a slight humming emitted.

_Twitch, twitch._

Her fingers twitched as it grasped for life to a peg of plastic. Slowly, her hand fell; she swallowed hard. Sweat perspired on her forehead as her heart palpitated rapidly. She slid the peg gently into the chasm and stared ahead.

"You sunk my battleship."

Chloe bolted to her feet and jumped in the air, "Winner! I'm the winner!"

Akari sighed and smiled at the young girl. Since moving in she had become a sort of heroine-figure to the young girl. She assumed it was because the girl had no friends her age on the island and the thought that another girl was willing to play with her made her happy.

"Riri, can we play again, _please_?" The girl begged, face aglow.

"I should head back to my farm now, Lolo. Try and find Luke. He'll play with you," Akari assured the adolescent.

When Chloe first started to call Akari by nicknames, the farmer was very flattered. Then after a while it got a bit boring. Then a bit annoying. Akari decided, in a passive-aggressive manner, that she would refer to Chloe with nicknames as to annoy her. Unfortunately, her plan backfired since Chloe enjoyed the aliases. Since then it had become a tradition to refer to each other in pet names.

"Okay! Luke's fun! Let's walk," Chloe stopped mid-sentence to take out a compass, "East!"

Akari smiled down at the young girl and placed a hand on her head. As they walked, she listened to Chloe talk about her aspiration of becoming a pirate, her favourite colors, candies and animals. When they came to the crossing of the Praline Woods they spotted Luke stretching, around him was a circle of tree stumps, freshly chopped. Chloe smirked and sprinted to Luke, quickly jumping on his back as best she could.

Akari giggled and watched Luke grab Chloe, swinging her around like an airplane and tipping her upside down, and growling like a monster. Since Luke was best friends with Chloe's older brother, Owen, he had developed a strong fondness of the child, considering her his little sister as well.

Akari continued on her path to her farm; she needed to take care of her livestock, since being a farmer came with the responsibility of balancing your priorities. As she skipped along the path, her mind drifted on what to cook. With such lush green lands surrounding her, she had a wide array of options before her.

Reaching her farm, she began her chores; she started to tend after her poultry, collecting eggs, and then went to care after her livestock. Since she learned how to pasteurize her animals Akari had become a bit lazy on her farm. She lived off foraging and the small money she accumulated through her animals, but that was it. She settled on the thought that it was fine; this was the simple life. She didn't want to change that.

Making her way to the shipping bin, she carefully placed her ingredients in the wooden box. As she gazed at the by products, she formulated an idea; she knew exactly what to make. A devious smile overtook her visage as she ran into the house.

In wasn't until an hour later that she had proudly finished her meal. She skipped along the pathway after dropping off her latest dish. She had reflected on this morning's events and decided that she would ask Chase if he's ever had a nickname and, if so, from whom and why.

Hopping along merrily, she reached the inn doors. Pulling them wide, she spun her head around searching for the tuft of orange hair. Her eyes locked onto a shining object, which has disappeared in a quick burst of movement. Peering around in search of the item, her eyes rested on a spatula tucked into the pocket of a certain waiter's apron.

Strolling to the man and standing behind him, she tapped on his shoulder, a toothy grin plastered on her face. He turned around and gazed at the young woman, who was looking brightly up at him.

He lifted his hand to her face, gentle placing it under her chin. The chef's eyes gazed into hers as an unspoken hello. His thumb brushed against the soft flesh of her cheek as he spoke, "What's this? Anthrax?"

"It's flour," Akari responded, her face had fallen flat and she casted a blank stare at the chef. Her good mood dismissed with the utterance of the patissier's words.

"You were cooking? That must be a big deal for you. You didn't kill anyone?"

"Yes, I was cooking. No, it's not a big deal. No, I didn't kill anyone."

"Well, not yet. But my money's on the sorry chap that has to eat what you made."

"No, he won't! And my shrimp scampi looked amazing!"

"… You put flour in a shrimp scampi?" Chase sighed and grabbed the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb.

"Oh, like you could do any better!" Akari shouted back, arms flailing around while her face grew red.

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"…Well… Well, shut up!" She huffed out and crossed her arms.

"Sorry, _my beautiful princess_," Chase smirked. Akari's anger bubbled; she had it. Bursting into her angry voice she started yelling at the man.

"You know, I have a question: why the hell are you so sarcastic?"

"It's so hard not to be," he said as he looked her up and down, and ended with a smirk, "When you've got so much to work with."

Glare.

Chuckle.

"No, seriously. Why? I really want to know why you're such a fucking asshole all the time!"

Chase straightened up and sighed, "You really want to know why?"

"Yes!"

"It's probably because of some psychological reason due to my childhood," Chase hushed out, rather hesitantly; his back was turned to Akari as he started to clear the dishes from the tables.

"Ha! What happened to you? Did you father hit you or something? Maybe mommy didn't let _wittle_ Chase go out at night? Haha, right, like _that's_ why you're a prick. You're parents were probably _so_ mean."

"Akari!"

"What's wrong, Chase? You're always a jerk to me! Why can't I return the favour? Apparently I can't because your childhood was _oh so horrible_—"

"SHUT UP! You don't understand so just _shut up!_" Chase had whirled around. A couple of dishes fell from the tray and shattered on the ground as her glared at Akari.

The farmer stared at the man in front of her. She could feel the waves of emotion from Chase in the atmosphere. She shivered at his penetrating glare, as if in that one look he was accusing her for his mistreatment as a child.

The air chilled.

He scoffed, stood with his feet shoulder-width apart and locked, as if had they not been, he would've just run away from here and never looked back. He turned his head to the side, not staring at Akari. Chase stayed like that for awhile until he gave up and walked into the kitchen, silently. Not looking at Akari, or even acknowledging her presence.

Akari stood there dumbfounded. She had never once heard Chase raise his voice in such an angry tone. She felt like collapsing. Falling to the ground and just seeping through the oak floorboards that patterned the inn.

"Oi, you. Leave. Get out; no one wants you here," Chase bluntly stated, leaning in the threshold of the kitchen's doorframe.

"O-okay. I… I'll leave," Akari said, turning to leave as the prickle of tears stung her eyes.

As soon as the inn door closed behind her, she bolted to her farm. Arms were swinging violently at her sides and her knees felt weak. She continued to run, never once looking back at the inn doors that had been hastily thrown closed. As if Hermes himself were pushing her, she sprinted into the night; the darkness engulfed her.

* * *

Hey there, kind-of-short-and-semi-dramatic chapter. But hey, better than no chapter, _amirite_?

WELL. I told you that I would draw you all something. (I am still going to be making that little image of Akari making Chase eat her food, and perhaps a Gil picture~) BUT. I made something. Keep in mind, I'm only a realistic portrait artist, so Chase is epic failure. HOWEVER. It's a gift that comes from the heart, mmkay.


	8. Introductory Conversations

"Akari, as much as I appreciate your coming in to help, can you please stop. It's annoying."

Akari craned her head to face the young heir to the town. Letting out a heavy sigh, she turned back to her stack of papers that she had begun tearing apart. Ignoring Gill she continued her endeavors and focused her attention onto the ever growing mountain of waste.

Elli, returning from the top floor with a stack of books, noticed the farmer sitting in the corner of the building. She looked at Gill, who only shrugged and continued with his work.

"Um, Akari," Elli carefully made her way down and placed the books on the table, "Why are you here?"

"Apparently, she had a fight with a certain chef a few days ago and hasn't conversed with him since."

"Oh my! Well, I'm sure you two will be fine soon!"

"We won't!" Akari exclaimed, jumping on her feet and whirling around. "We may have not talked for only a couple days but it feels like six months and twenty-one days!"

"That seems quite exact," remarked Elli.

"Yes," Gill concurred, "As if this were a story. _A story that hasn't been updated for a large amount of time_."

"Probably due to laziness."

"Probably."

"And stupidity."

"Clearly."

"And-"

"I think we get it, Elli."

"Oh... Well, how do you suppose we should get them talking to each other, Gill?"

Gill stared at the woman with a look of annoyance. "Why are you asking me? I'm not a main character in this story. It's theirs so leave it to them."

"But _look_ at her!"

Akari had fallen to the ground once more and begun shaping the paper into a bust of the chef, detailing it with three rounds of paper clips on the side of his head. Although one wouldn't know it was him. It resembled more of a potato. She mumbled out loud to herself and started a conversation with the organic patissier.

"Ahem. Well. She does look quite horrid and she's making a putrid mess everywhere. Might as well help her."

_Twitch_.

"Yes. I think she needs it! She's a completely mess! This is so unexpected of you, Gill!"

_Twitch_.

"I am a nice person, you know."

_Twitch_.

Akari's ears twitched as she listened to the conversation. She was surprised that Gill was willing to help. Though he was nice on certain occasions. Standing up, she traipsed her way over to the counter and cleared her throat.

"As touched as I am to hear that both of you want to help, I think I should do this myself. Gill's right; this is between me and Chase. I don't want to burden either of you, too. Excuse me, I'm off to smooze."

Walking towards the door, she pivoted and did a little wave, a chorus of 'good luck's and 'you can do it' erupted from the petite brunette. Akari slightly smiled, still nervous of the outcome as she opened the door and walked out into the square.

The summer sun had died and the fresh fall breeze blew strands of hair into Akari's face. The sounds of crinkling leaves could be heard underfoot. There were sailing ships that past far out in the sea. Such a calm mood was a juxtaposition to the storm brewing in her head. Beginning her journey to the inn, she could feel the cold growing steadily in her. She dug her hands into her pockets until she was at the door of the inn.

"Well, here goes nothing..."

Swinging the large oak doors, she crossed the threshold and was instantly greeted by the smiling Maya who had grabbed onto her hand and sat her down and her usual table.

"Can I get you something, Aka?"

"Is Chase here?"

Mai was taken aback by the tone emitted from the farmer. "Um, yes. I'll... I'll go get him."

Akari watched her disappear into the kitchen. Feeling the table-top, she caressed it softly and slid her calloused fingers over the wood. Nostalgia hit her. She recalled all the memories she had at the table: from her first outing at the establishment to the blow-out with the chef.

The chef. She was making a mistake coming here. She should leave, she decided. Standing up, she maneuvered out of her chair. Silently pushing it back in its place and moving to the door.

But a hand captured hers.

She gulped. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"I'm sorry, Chase. I should really leave. I'm sorry."

"We need to talk."

"..."

"Your house. After work."

"... Fine. I'll see you then."

"..."

"..."

"Akari..."

"... Yes?"

"You know, I'm a very attractive man in some lighting; you really should look at me when I talk. Who knows, maybe you'll fall in love with me."

Akari leered at the young man, "Who'd fall in love with you, you snob?"

Chase smiled encouragingly and tugged on Akari's arm, sending her into his chest. He wrapped his free arm around her.

"Akari... I'm so glad you're talking to me again," he managed to get out.

His voice was tight and shaky. Akari had never heard him like this. She pushed back from his hug and looked into his eyes. They appeared more watery than usual. And more... more soft. Smiling, she looked up at him.

"I'm glad, too. I'll see you later, then."

Chase dropped his arms, slowly. Running a trail of feather-like touches down her arm until he rested on her hands. Squeezing them once, he let go and waved goodbye to her.

As the door closed behind her, he made one final sigh before getting back to work.

* * *

**... I'm an idiot. Sorry. -awkward smile-?**


	9. Of Pasts

WARNING: Chase has a long ass speech in this! And by long, I mean long. And by ass, I mean ass.

Also, I tried to make this sad, then halfway through, I said, "No. I can't do this."

* * *

_Knock._

_Knock._

_Knock._

Akari flailed her hands around violently, surprised by the rhythmic knocking on the door. The farmer was attempting to calm her nerves down for whatever Chase had to say but her nervousness was gnawing away at her insides, making her wonder if she was making the right decision in speaking with him so privately. She quickly tidied up what was left in her attempt to look somewhat presentable to the young man and walked deftly to the door. Carefully opening the wooden barricade, she looked at the chef in front of her. He was still in his apron and even had some strains gracing the front of it. A pleasant scent of blueberries and freshly baked cake wafted over her as the crisp autumn breeze blew the scent into her home.

"Come in, Chase."

He walked through the door frame and nodded 'hello' to Akari. Lounging as comfortably as he could on one of her chairs he waved her over, motioning her to sit beside him. As she walked towards him she noticed that Chase's features were, like when she encountered him at the inn before, very soft and almost... vulnerable. His eyes had the faintest sign of water rising to the surface. Akari had thought, however, that she was just assuming things, and that perhaps it was the angle of his face, in a side profile view to her, that was playing tricks on her mind.

"Chase. What did you say we needed to talk about?" Akari prodded nervously, playing with a bit of baggy fabric on the front of her clothing. Chase didn't bring his face up to look at her, finding the darkest corner of the farmer's shack to be the most appealing sight at the time.

"We fought."

"Yeah... I— I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have said anything. I really have no business. I was just angry..."

"Do you know about my childhood?"

"Um," Akari paused, trying to think back to a time when she heard about his past. She couldn't come up with anything, and dejectedly shook her head, "No, I don't know about it."

"..."

"Chase, what's wrong?"

He stood up promptly and pushed his chair to face Akari. Leaning forward, he leered at her.

"Chase?"

"I'm still angry at what you said."

"I... I'm sorry. I know I said too much. I really should've just shut up. Stupid Akari is at it again, with her foot superglued into her mouth..."

Chase's face faltered for a second before he gently placed a hand on top of Akari's. He gave he a tiny squeeze, as a melancholic smile graced his lips.

"I'm truly sorry, Chase. I didn't mean anything by it. I don't know about your childhood. Was it... was it bad? Chase, you can tell me, you know. We're friends. That's what we do, right? Chase..."

Akari noticed that his shoulders started to shake. Nervous that she had made him even angrier, she moved her chair closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. His shaking subsided, slightly, as he looked back at the girl in front of him with tears running down his face.

Akari's breath hitched at the vulnerable young man in front of her, who once again bowed his head and let a bit of tears stray from his eyes and fall to the floor, echoing in the loud silences that continued

The farmer's heart beat faster. She didn't know what to do. She had never been with someone when they cried, and she didn't know the first thing about consoling someone, especially someone like Chase. Moving her chair closer to him, she squeeze back on the hand he was holding; she rubbed his back with the other one.

The whispering wind whistled through the cracked window.

"Sorry, Akari... Sorry."

"That's alright, Chase. It's okay, really."

"I... I guess I'm the one with my foot in my mouth. You don't deserve to have someone blow up at you like that. Or look so... I don't know, weak in front of you. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Woman."

Chase looked up, staring quizzically at Akari, smirking slightly. Dried tears still clung to his face. "And you think I'm a jerk? I just poured my heart out, tears-wise, and you insult me?"

She gulped and began flailing her arms whilst apologizing profusely at the now-smiling red-head. He chuckled slightly at antics and attempted to straighten himself up.

"I think your idiocy is what makes it impossible for me to stay angry at you."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Of course. How dare you accuse me of being anything but a kind-hearted man," the chef rebutted, feigning hurt.

"You're like a roller coaster of emotions right now. There are pills for that, y'know."

Chase just smirked and settled himself on his chair. Sitting up as comfortably as he can, he moved his bobby pins to capture the hair that fell in his face and readjusted them. Then he patted the spot, ensuring their hold. Displeased with their feel, he'd take them out and rearrange them again. He did this a couple times.

"I still don't see why you only wear them to one side," the young girl mused, fascinated by the chef's meticulous arrangement of accessories. His eyes darted back to hers.

"I thought I answered that before. Let's just boil it up to aesthetics, shall we? Besides, aren't we still on 'why are you so goddamn sarcastic?'"

"Um."

"It's okay," Chase drawled, easing the situation to a more relaxed nature, "I already cried. I just had to let that out, you know? I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm clearly a man and clearly men don't cry. But with you, I think it's okay. You're one of my best friends and the only person on this island that has ever bothered to get to know me. I've been to so many different places but I never met anyone that wanted to get to know _me_. Not just how I make certain food."

Akari smiled at the chef and folded her hands in her lap. He looked to her then to the window and continued talking.

"I grew up in a big city. A place where you weren't known by names. You were always, 'that kid' wherever you turned. It wasn't until I was five that I really cared that much about living like that. But when I was five my parents died. They died from some strange disease. The doctor wouldn't tell me. Said something about how 'little kids shouldn't know such things.' When the police came to pick me up, they contacted everyone in my family. But no one answered. I was left alone. So, they put me in an orphanage," Chase reclined back, "But when I was there I forgot everything about me. I became just another face. Just another mouth to feed. No one asked my name. No one cared."

Chase turned back to Akari and gave her an encouraging smile and focused his attention onto the ceiling.

"Now I could tell you how goddamn lonely I was. But I think that's already implied. The other kids at the orphanage... well... They were nice folks, but you had to watch yourself. Most ostracized me, saying that I had parents. That it was my fault they died. That - Akari, don't make that face, it's uglier than your real one - that, perhaps if I were a better child I wouldn't have lost them. But I knew it wasn't my fault. I don't blame myself for it. If anything, I'd blame the goddamn doctors for not making a solid goddamn diagnosis. Then again, no one's really to blame. I guess it was just their time.

"So where was I? Oh yeah, the orphanage. Yeah, those kids didn't like me. They'd pick on me. Play jokes or get me in trouble. I lived there till I was about ten or so. Then there was this one day - I think it was a Wednesday. I've never really liked Wednesdays. The cops showed up at our building. Said they were looking for a kid who set off some fireworks. Apparently it blew off a guy's hand. Actually, maybe he said head. Hand?... I dunno. It started with an 'h' and ended with a 'd', though. Well, this one cop goes, "We found this at the scene." Y'see, he was holding my hat. I got it from my dad, but it was my hat. So he goes, "Who does this belong to?" If I were more intelligent at the time, maybe I'd say it was mine then add a witty riposte about how that was incorrect grammar. But I didn't, I only said it was mine.

"'Then you better come with me.' So he took me by the hand as his partner grabbed all my stuff. As he's dragging me out of there this nice old lady sees me and looks at the officer and says, 'Excuse me, what are you doing with that young man?' The officer is all, 'Why this kid nearly killed a man!' I guess he said hand, then. I'm sure if a firework hits someone in the face that it will kill a man. But the old lady looks at me and goes, 'Did you do something like that?' I just shook my head. I was pretty much mute growing up there. So the old lady looks at the cop and goes, 'My, my. Well, he says he didn't do it. Why are you taking him away then?'

"The police just looked at each other and referenced the hat. But that old lady was clever! 'But that doesn't prove that he did it. Even if it is his hat, maybe someone planted it there.' The officers thought she was crazy. Heck, I even thought she was crazy. Then she proposed keeping me. Saying she needed someone to keep her company and a troublesome boy to someone could be a blessing to another. The cops finally agreed and we went through this huge adoption process. When that was finally over, she took me back to her place. Which, evidently, was an ostrich farm."

Akari's eyes bulged out of her head. She didn't know whether to cry at his horrible past, or to laugh at his... less than wonderful luck. She couldn't really imagine him being a wonderful farmer. However, from past experiences she realized he was amazing with Phil, her own ostrich. She chortled at the image of him riding an ostrich around town.

"Stop laughing. This is a very serious conversation."

"Ostrich farm?"

"I didn't _ask_ to live there._"_

"But _seriously_?"

"Akari."

"Fine, fine."

"Well," Chase regained his composure, "As I grew up under her care, I ended up making her dinner a lot. In fact, she taught me how to cook. And when she passed away -"

"- Wait a minute, how can an old lady take care of an ostrich ranch?"

"She had help, idiot. But even if she didn't, _you're_ managing to run a ranch. I'm sure she could, too."

"Fine, fine."

"When she passed away, she left her ranch to me. She wrote in her will that I could do whatever I pleased with it. She just wanted me to follow my dream. I decided to sell it. When I got the money, I traveled all over the world. From there, I learned cooking from many different places. I learned to apply them, but I still make dishes the way she used to make them. In a way, she's always with me. She's the strength that keeps me cooking. And well... that's my life story, I guess."

He sighed heartily. Looking much more relaxed than ever before. He moved to his original upright seating position and stared at her. A faint smile grazed his lips as the dark night had crept its way into the house, casting shadows on the walls.

"That still doesn't explain why you're sarcastic."

"..."

* * *

**I cannot write sad things. It is not in me. AT ALL.**


	10. Dancing With Myself

I want to welcome you all in to what I call the "not-that-funny-but-eww,-is-that-a-hair-in-my-mouth-no-nevermind-that-is-FLUFF" experience. Meaning, from here on out, I may just go full steam ahead on this ChasexAkari boat.

* * *

Akari realized something.

Akari realized something that would change her entire life if she were to overcome it.

Akari realized that she was clumsy.

Since arriving in Waffle Town, Akari noted that she had walked into multiple doors (and chests), landed on her ass countless times and fallen into sixty-four potholes.

Tilling her fields and watering the crops for the day, she sluggishly made her way to her animals. She went about her daily routine until accidently sticking her foot in a bucket. Akari spent a good portion of time (and swear words) trying to get it off. Finally, the bucket flew off her foot hitting the wooden walls before noisily landing on the ground in front of her.

Akari sighed, pushing back her hair and patting dirt from her jeans.

"_Fu_—," Akari attempted to swear only to be cut off by an unexpected face-plant to the ground courtesy of the aforementioned bucket.

She writhed on the dirt floor for a while before lazily pushing herself off and thinking that she needed time away from the farm.

Walking into her tattered home, she grabbed her satchel, cleaned herself off, and paraded to town looking for an answer to her woes.

Walking into bright town, she sullenly pasted the building until her eye caught the very curvaceous figure of the tan belly dancer of the island. Akari quirked her head to the side and contemplated saying 'hello' to the woman; she wasn't close friends with the dancer, but she did have some pleasant conversations with her. Selena was the type of sassy woman that Akari looked up to, mostly because she felt intimidated by her, but also because she found woman with confidence to be powerfully inspiring. With her working on a farm as a female in a male-dominated profession, Akari reveled in having more passionately driven people in her life.

"Selena! May I ask a favour of you, please?"

"No."

"But _Selena_, you don't even know what—"

"I don't care."

Akari watched as the tan woman swayed away. The farmer met the dancer at one of the spring festivals where the woman demanded that Akari should buy her a flower. Akari didn't have enough money at the time so she didn't buy the dancer what she wanted. Ever since the Flower Festival, Selena was less-than-friendly to the brunette, save for a couple of chance conversations.

Akari began to traipse back to her shack until she decided to try her luck with one of her best friends on the island and quickly hopped her way to the Town Hall.

She threw open the doors to the Town Hall and whipped her head around, "Elli, I need your help."

"I believe it is better for everyone's health if you were to shut up," Gill stated matter-of-factly as he leveled papers in his hand.

"Where's Elli? I _need_ her."

"What _you_ need is to be put down."

"... Har, har."

"Elli is out to lunch. Please take a seat and wait for her if you must, but you must remain quiet."

Akari fell back on the wall and slunk herself onto the floor. She waited for the brunette to arrive as she fiddled with her hair, braiding it and curling it around her index finger. She kept looking over to the counter where Gill was sternly signing papers. Occasionally, the blond would lift a hand to his head, close his eyes and rub his temples. He would then sigh and fall back into the routine of doing work.

He did this five times.

Akari had a "thing" for counting when she was bored.

A light humming was heard from outside the door until the squeaking sound of the hinges drowned the sound. Elli's foot passed over the threshold. The young brunette, stocked with groceries in her arms, made her way over to the counter and daintily placed the items on the wooden panels.

"I have everything for tonight," Elli giggled and looked over at the heir to the town. Gill coughed and looked over at his co-worker.

"Yes. Thank you. Akari is here for you."

Elli gasped, feeling like she had been rude to not notice the farmer. "Oh. Yes. Thank you. Hello, Akari. What's new?"

"_I'm clumsy_," Akari breathed out.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's horrible."

"... And?"

"Am I suppose to have an 'and'?"

"Well, you're graceful and feminine! I think with my being a farmer, I'm not."

"Do you even _work_ on your farm? I only see you completing your daily shenanigans," Gill interjected.

"Shut up, Gill."

"Akari, don't be mean," Elli chastised. She maneuvered her way around the counters, trailing her hands on Gill's shoulders and stood at her typical position. Her face wrinkled as a bright smile graced her features.

"I have an idea, actually. But you may not like it."

"Please, I'll try anything! Being clumsy is starting to affect my work! You don't even know how many times I've fallen face first into manure!"

"Well, that's disgusting... But I'm not much of a teacher so _I_ wouldn't be able to help you. However, I do know someone that could."

"Really? Who is she?"

"Actually, it's Gill."

"No... No. Absolutely not. I will _never_ let that woman teach me!" Akari yelled, flailing about and making 'x's with her limbs.

"Like _I_ would teach an incompetent thing like Akari!" Gill raised his voice and slammed his pen down on the countertop.

"Oh, you two. Can you please stop? Wouldn't it be best for everyone? Gill, you want to be a teacher. What else is a better test of your abilities? And Akari, you want to be graceful and elegant, right? Or at least not... um, fall into manure any more. Well, if you can be graceful while dealing with Gill's strict teaching and still regain your composure, then you've succeeded! And besides, I think that if Gill taught you how to dance, you'd learn a bit of grace.

"Y'know, I guess you're correct... So, Gill? What about it?"

"While I am against this, if it is affecting your work, then it is affecting our town. However, I will only teach you for one day, no more but possibly less. You just need to learn the basics and practice them yourself. Understood?" Gill exasperated, "Give me a demonstration of your talents, or lack thereof."

"Alright!"

The blond went into the back of the town hall to fetch an antique record player and some old Lazy Discs. Positioning the player onto the counter he had Akari choose an LP. Akari placed a record containing a minuet onto the phonograph. The two figures hypnotically watched the farmer set up until she positioned herself upstage of the pair. As the music record began to turn, and the music filled the room Akari began to flail her limbs wildly off count.

A vein in Gill's head throbbed as he stared at the thrashing farmer who was currently knocking over books and potted plants. His hand plucked the needle of the gramophone up to put an end to the music, although Akari's dancing lingered for a couple seconds after.

"So, do you think you can fix me?"

"..."

"Gill?"

"Elli, can you please teach her yourself?"

The brunette looked up at the young heir to the city who was pinching the bridge of his nose and was dejectedly positioned at the counter. She giggled at the blond before answering.

"Sorry, Gill, but you're the only person who is right for the job. Besides, you want to be a teacher, right? Think of this as teaching experience."

"_Ha_. Fine! Fine!" Gill exclaimed, "But you are not permitted to dance in the office. We will go outside. You've done enough destruction already."

"What! I haven't done...," Akari had begun her argument until she started to look around the room, "...Oh."

Papers were scattered everywhere and plants were tipped over. Some groceries that Elli had bought were thrown on the floor and smashed open. Gill tip-toed his way towards the sound system and maneuvered his way to Akari, who hadn't noticed how graceful the blond actually was. Gill stood in front of the farmer and craned his head to Elli.

"I will be stepping out for a moment. Please excuse me."

"Alright. Have fun, you two!"

Akari waved a 'goodbye' to the weather girl and ran after the blond who had picked up the phonograph with the record and was holding the door open for the farmer. He nodded a goodbye and followed Akari into the town square.

"So Gill, where shall we practise?"

"Here."

"... What?"

"We're practising here," Gill stated, crossing his arms and leering at the young woman.

"But anyone can see us!"

"It's the only place that can harbour your _unique_ style of dancing."

Akari pouted as Gill turned on the music and a classical piano sonata filled the square. He raised his arms and motioned for the farmer to dance with him. Akari hesitatingly made her way to Gill and attempted to mirror his moves.

"You just need to remember a basic box step. Once you practise the box step more, you'll eventually be able to improve. Once you improve you can add more advanced steps."

Akari silently nodded as she glared holes into her feet in an attempt to stop stepping on Gill's shoes.

"Look up. Be confident in yourself."

"But I'm—"

"—A horrible dancer? Yes, you are. However, you will improve."

Akari smiled inwardly at Gill's honest version of encouragement. After an hour, the rancher began moving more fluidly with some slight slip-ups.

"I told you that you would get the hang of it. Just think of this as _quick, quick, slow_ in a box step," Gill explained and dropped his arms from the farmer, "Do you understand?"

"Yes. Slightly, I'm still horrible though, aren't I?"

"Quite."

"But I've improved."

"Quite."

"Well, thank you, then. I really appreciate it!"

"You are welcome. You just need to remember the basics and you will be fine. You can use the phonograph for now, but please return it to the Town Hall after you are finished. I shall be off, now. Good luck."

Akari bid thanks to the heir of the city and waved him a farewell. She picked up the record player and made her way home, happily.

Reaching her house Akari waltzed around her farm completing her tasks using the steps Gill had taught her. The rancher felt more confident and began dancing in a more exaggerated style to match the dramatic crescendos and adagios which were riddled in the music. Akari spun too fast and ended up falling backwards into her well.

"That was so bad," a voice chuckled behind her.

"Like you can do any better!" Akari screeched back, thoroughly embarrassed at her major slip up.

"True. I _am_ pretty white," Chase smiled, walking over to the farmer and pulling her out of her well.

"Then why are _you_ insulting me?"

"Because after watching that I was _this close_ to getting a corkscrew and giving myself a frontal lobotomy."

"Well... Maybe... Maybe you should go die from that... Yeah."

"That was genius," Chase deadpanned and smirked, "I think the centrifugal force must have spun out some IQ points."

"Look, I'm just trying to dance the way Gill taught me."

"Clearly, Gill is a false prophet if_ that's_ what he calls dancing."

Akari heavily sighed and turned off the antique stereo. She straightened up and sighed once more before making her way to her rucksack.

A light piano score emitted behind Akari. She cautiously turned around to see Chase, bowing, with an arm outstretched.

"Milady, may I have this dance?"

Akari blinked.

"... No."

Akari bent down and began placing things in her bag until she heard leaves crumple behind her. She craned her head over her left shoulder and watched the patissier dance.

Chase's arms were lifted as if he were dancing with an imaginary woman. Akari assumed that the woman, if she wasn't imaginary and was very much real, would've been horridly annoyed by the cook. He fumbled helplessly and tripped multiple times. Akari began chuckling until the chef overheard her laughter and stopped.

"What's so funny?"

"You're a horrible dancer."

"So are you, princess."

"Excuse me, I'm far better than you!"

"Nope. Don't think so. If you were better, you would've offered me a pity dance. Oh well," Chase shrugged and started walking away from the annoyed farmer.

"Fine! Fine! One dance!"

"Nah, no thanks."

"_Chase_," Akari said sternly.

"If you put it that way I guess I have to," he smirked and walked over to the farmer. Chase snaked an arm around her waist and took one of Akari's hands in his and lifted it up.

A poignant opus enveloped the pair as they clumsily tripped over each other. Akari noticed a faint blush on Chase's face. She smiled as she noticed Chase leaving a large gap between their bodies so he could glance at his feet. She tried to refrain herself from chastising him as Gill did with her and instead moved a bit closer to block his vision. As Akari did, Chase got flustered and stepped on her foot.

"Sorry," Chase whispered.

"It's fine. You're learning," Akari encouraged as the music died.

Chase quickly withdrew his arms from the farmer and tensely stared at her. Akari responded by rubbing the back of her head and chuckling before going over to the gramophone and turning it off.

"Well, Chase, that was alright."

"Yeah. That... That was pretty alright," Chase said with a straight face to which Akari pouted.

"What's with your face? I told you I was a better dancer than you! You're just star-struck, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Yeah."

"Chase?"

"Akari. We should do something like this again. It was nice," Chase airily said and quickly turned around and hurriedly walked back to his house leaving Akari confused.

* * *

**WOOOO. ONE MORE EXAM. TAKE THAT UNIVERSITY.**

**Which plot of land do you guys always choose?** I always choose the Hillside plot since I'm a stickler for the whole mining/foraging/fishing dealio. Plus, I find it to be the best location when I want to woo everyone. Which I do. Because I can in fictional universes. Virtual high-five anyone?

**And for the LOLZ:** I have never read any Harry Potter books, nor have a seen a single Harry Potter movie. But I can say that I've seen "_A Very Potter Musical_" which is on youtube. I suggest everyone to watch it. Even if you aren't an avid HP fan you'll find it hysterical.


	11. Melodies and Maladies

"... Seriously?"

"Please?"

"_Ha_... Fine."

Chase lifted up the wooden, hand crafted flute and held it to his lips. His breath laced through the instrument as a soothing melody began to fill the room.

A smile crept onto Akari's face as she glanced at the young patissier whose eyes were half-lidded in a peaceful lull. Akari once asked the chef what his favourite style of music was and he responded with something which was more peaceful, even soulful, than to what most of the males on the island would probably listen. He had even lent her some CDs of his and she noted some of his favourite songs. Although she often caught the chef humming a tune or singing softly to himself, the idea of his playing an instrument hadn't occurred to her. In fact, Akari found out about Chase's talent by accident.

* * *

After a fight with her livestock, which ended up with her lying spread-eagle on the barn floor above a very annoyed ostrich, she stormed off her farm and wandered the Maple Lake District in search of something to do. While angrily destroying all the crunchy leaves that riddled the ground below her, she heard a faint melodious sound in the short cadences of her own noise. She stopped tormenting the leaves and began a search for whatever was making the music. It wasn't until she was right in front of the chef's window, left slightly ajar, that she realized the sound had been coming from the house. She peered inside, but the blinds left everything to the imagination.

After that occurrence, Akari stopped going to the Sundae Inn all together and instead would plop herself down in front of the window and listen. Akari knew that her actions verged on her being a stalker but she was genuinely curious. She had known Chase fairly well, now, and was probably one of the closest people to him on the island, but she felt voyeuristic at the thought of her asking him about the melodies and motifs that hugged his house.

Akari was tuned out and half-dead from overwork and lack of sleep on her seventh day of sitting outside the chef's shack; she began to slowly nod off. Gently, and softly the flute's notes fluttered down and her eyelids danced, dejectedly, with the tune into wistful sleep.

"Oi, wake up."

"... H-huh?"

"You're sleeping in my flower garden."

"... You have a flower garden?"

"Yes. I am very manly."

Akari lazily stood up and stared at the crossed-armed chef. Chase sighed and crouched down to pull out the trampled on chrysanthemums.

"They could've been salvaged, y'know. You're just killing the environment now, " Akari drearily replied to his gestures.

"As a ginger kid with hay fever it is my god given _right_ to kill the environment."

Akari pouted at the chef and sighed exasperatedly. Her body turned from the house and began its journey back to her farm until a hand clasp her wrist. She contorted herself to confront the look the young chef whose white dress shirt had dirt smudged on the cuffs.

"'Kay, firstly, you okay? Secondly, what were you doing in my flower garden? Thirdly, even if you are okay, would you like me to escort you home?"

"Um. I'm okay. I feel... really dizzy, actually. I, uh, heard some music that was coming from your house and listened to it," the farmer drawled out, cheeks reddening with every word.

"Dizzy?" Chase asked and lifted a hand to her forehead, "You're really warm! If you were really that curious you could've come inside. Now you're sick! Never mind your house, you need to rest."

"That's fine. My house is right over there."

"Can you even walk right now? You were hobbling until I grabbed your hand."

"I was?"

"... You aren't even arguing with me! You're sick in the head!"

"Chase?"

Chase stood by Akari's left side and grabbed her around the waist with his right hand. His left hand held onto her other hand, gingerly, as they carefully made their way into the chef's house. Guiding her figure, he gently sat her down on the bed and let go. The young farmer looked up at him quizzically.

"What are you-?"

"It's fall and it rains and _you_ decided to hover in my front yard. My flowers have been getting crushed for a week now, and they were worse this morning. Yesterday, it rained. Were you outside my house then?"

"Um... Yeah."

"... I'm going to completely disregard your stalker tendencies," Chase huffed out and moved to a closet, swinging it open, and grabbed some sheets. Shuffling his feet back over to the farmer, he threw the pile of blankets at her face.

"That – That was rude," Akari attempted to raise her voice.

"And stalking someone isn't?"

"No. That's flattering."

"No, it's not."

"In my world it is."

"In my world, throwing blankets at your face is flattering."

"..."

"... You're not fun to argue with when you're sick."

Akari stuck out her tongue and watched the young chef pull something out of a cupboard on the far end of the kitchen and walk over to her.

"Open."

"Huh—"

A thermometer was thrust into Akari's mouth and wiggled about until it found solace under her tongue. Chase, once again, let out an exasperated sigh, delicately placing a hand on Akari's. His brows knitted together as a slight frown graced his lips.

"You're too much trouble, seriously. I'd almost _prefer_ for you to annoy me at the inn every night than have to nurse you here."

"Mrrfhhm."

"Yes, you're right. I am an amazing person to take on such a feat."

"Mmmfrrffhmm!"

"I _know_! There _should_ be a national holiday to celebrate the wonder that is me."

"... Mhfmfm."

"You're right. I _do_ deserve a parade in my honour."

"..."

" ... And I deserve my own country. Very well put," Chase drawled and pulled the thermometer out of the farmer's mouth after it started beeping a couple times.

"I didn't even say anything that time."

"But your eyes said every word," Chase stated offhandedly and looked at the thermometer, "105."

"Is that bad?"

"..."

"Is it?"

"Are you planning on sleeping in those?" Chase questioned, looking at her dirty jeans.

"Um?"

He stared at her, expectantly, and then made his way to a dresser. Sliding open the first oak drawer, he rummaged through the contents until he pulled out one of his pure white dress shirts and some navy shorts. Turning to the farmer, he handed her the clothes and shooed her into the bathroom.

"Chase, I don't think I sh–"

"Sick people don't have opinions."

Akari huffed and walked out of the bathroom, garbed in men's clothing. One of her hands busied itself on making sure her shorts stayed up, as the other hand was groping the wall to stabilize the sick girl so she wouldn't stumble about. The dance lessons did help correct her clumsiness, but she had no motor skills when it came to her being sick. Chase sat at the kitchen table and snickered at the helpless rancher.

"You look like a sloth."

"Shut it."

"Ouch – I'm hurt."

"Good. Now. Now go... go kill yourself."

"I would, but then who would take care of you?"

"I'm fine," Akari said. Her hand slipped and her body crashed against the off white wallpaper, making her murmur a small, "Ouch."

Chase threw a hand up to his lips in an attempt to stiffen back his snicker. He stood up, staring tenderly at the farmer and gently navigated the young girl to the bed. Akari sprawled her body on the light blue sheets. Chase pulled the covers from under Akari's body and placed them on top of her, patting down the sides to tuck her in.

Making his way to the fridge, he began to pull out ingredients. Scuttling around the kitchen, Chase began to playful sauté some onions and cut some garlic. He hummed softly as he threw in more ingredients to the mix.

Akari stared at the chef. Akari didn't know whether it was the fever playing tricks on her or if it was truly happening, but she could see a very wide grin on the boy. It was a grin that was sincere, instead of his traditional one he bequeathed to his customers every night. Once again, the melody he was humming reached her ears and she remembered how she got sick in the first place.

"Um, Chase?"

"Don't talk. The food's almost done. You should talk after you eat. Your throat will feel better, and so will you," Chase light-heartedly chuckled.

"'Kay."

Chase placed the fully-cooked food on a collapsible tray and carefully made his way to the girl. Placing the food in front of her, Chase took the spoon in his hand and handed it to Akari.

"Th-thank you."

"Eat up!" Chase suggested exuberantly as he looked contentedly at the farmer.

Akari dug the spoon into the warm soup and slowly placed it to her mouth. Sniffing the contents, she looked back at the chef, sceptically.

"What kind of person do you take me for?"

"The type to poison things."

"I would never poison food. Eat it."

"..."

"Fine," Chase grumbled out and chomped down on the spoon, sweeping all the contents off the silverware as he straightened up and swallowed, "See?"

"Fine."

"..."

"Get me another spoon."

"What's wrong with that one?"

"Your germs are on it."

"So?"

"I don't want Chase germs in my mouth."

Chase stared flatly at the girl in front of him before an idea popped into his head. He smirked at the young farmer.

"Alright. Give me the spoon."

"Chase?" Akari questioned and handed the young patissier the spoon.

Grabbing it, Chase quickly lifted it to Akari's face and stroked the spoon along her right cheekbone. Then, standing from his position, made his way to the kitchen and diligently fetched a new spoon for the girl.

"..."

"What?" Chase asked, innocently, as he handed the rancher a new spoon.

"I said I didn't want Chase germs."

"_In your mouth_. You didn't want my germs _in_ _your mouth_. You didn't say anything about not wanting my germs on your face."

"..."

"Eat. It'll get cold."

Akari pouted and stole some soup on her spoon. She watched Chase get up and busy himself with cleaning before she grabbed her first taste of the soup. She was surprised by how good it actually was. Akari knew Chase had talent in this area, but she could never recall whether or not she ate his cooking before.

"You've eaten my cooking before."

Akari twitched and quietly breathed out, "_Telepathy...?_"

"At the inn, you typically eat Yolanda's, or a fusion of Yolanda's and my own. But you never eat strictly mine. So how do you like this? It's spicy tomato and lentil soup. I'm trying to get better with out-of-season crops."

"It's really good, actually."

"Really good, hm?" Chase pondered and stopped scrubbing the saucepan.

"What?"

"It's just 'really good'? That's it, huh."

"Hm?"

"Never mind. I'm glad you like it, though," he stated, looking over his shoulder to the girl who was now happily guzzling down the soup. The pair went silent as Akari finished her food and Chase finished doing the dishes.

Rain began to fall outside and hit the small house in a rhythmic pattern. The inside of the house was dimly lit with some lamps spastically placed here and there that cast shadows on the walls. Akari looked at the young chef, who was absentmindedly staring into the darkness outside.

"Chase?"

"Yes?"

"Where are you going to sleep tonight?"

"... You just broke the sombre mood."

"What?"

"_Ha_. Never mind. What do you mean 'where are you going to sleep'?"

"Well, if I'm in your bed, where are you going to sleep?"

Chase smirked and seductively drawled, "Is that an invitation to sleep with you, Akari?"

"No!"

"Well, then where am I to sleep, if it's not with you?"

"In a dog house where you belong."

"Heh. Your energy is coming back, that's for sure."

"..."

"It doesn't matter where I sleep. I just want to watch over you for now. You're still sick, y'know."

Akari pouted at the chef who had grabbed a chair and positioned himself next to the bed. Akari fell back from her sitting position and lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She listened to the raindrops gently coat the house with their own melody.

"Chase!" Akari yelped.

"What?" Chase questioned wide-eyed, staring at the girl that arbitrarily yelled his name out.

"Question!"

"Answer?"

"I heard music coming from your house. It was really... It was really beautiful. What was it?"

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Close your eyes."

Akari did and she was told. Soon, she heard the rustling and clanging of someone tearing apart something. However, when the noise stopped, she heard the squeaking of a chair, as if the chair was inching closer to her. Then, all noise stopped.

There was a deafening silence that filled the room that made Akari want to pry her eyes open but she forced them shut. As if something knew the silence was becoming deafening, a crescendo of notes filled the air. Slowly, she lifted her lids and her eyes rested on the chef who was playing a wooden instrument. Akari laid her body down and closed her eyes. Letting the music wash over her, she drifted into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Ever since she found out about Chase's talent for the flute, she began wandering over to his house to listen to him play on his days off. Even on days when he wasn't fond of playing, he appeased her and played whatever melody she wished to her from him.

She smiled at the chef whose instrumental coloratura kept him jumping from note to note. Akari decided she was fond of the chef. Yes, fond was the word. She giggled at the thought of the possibility of being best friends with the young man.

"Are you stoned?"

"... What?"

"You're just staring at me with a stupid expression on your face."

"... What?"

"Actually, come to think of it," Chase placed the tip of the flute to his chin, "You look like that all the time. Do you have a drug problem? I don't care about you enough to give you an intervention, sorry."

"... And I was _just_ starting to like you."

"What? You haven't fallen for my charms or cunning good looks yet? I'm offended. Get out of my house."

"Gladly!"

"Good."

"We are _never_ going to be best friends."

"Oh, stop fighting your burning desire for me."

"I'm leaving!"

"'Kay! Bye-bye, _dearest_," Chase waved and slammed the door on Akari.

"... ASSHOLE!"

"_Love you, too!" _

"UGH!"

* * *

**CHASE CAN PLAY THE FLUTE. HE CAN PLAY THE FLUTE. OMG. CHASE. FLUTE. PLAYING. HOLY CRAP.**

That was my exact response when I went to his house in Animal Parade and saw him playing the flute. I was debating between Chase or the Wizard. Then I saw the flute. For about a month and some weeks now, my time has mostly been dedicated to hardcore-ly playing AP, by the way. Sorry about the inconvenience.

Although, I'm more sorry for University forcing me to have a life thus making it impossible for me to do stuff.

If you're wondering what kind of song Chase may play, I would assume something like Partita for flute.


	12. Q5 'Types'

Ever since I moved back home from the island (in case you don't know, I go to school on an island) I've planted myself in front of my TV and played Animal Parade like a mad woman. I bought the flower hairpin and realized that Chase has this huge thing for girls that are cute. Also, I'm a horrible person that never updates. :'( Thank you all for being so great to me!

* * *

"Oh, but Aki, darling, you have to let me fix it."

"... You want to fix my face?"

"Trust me, honey, it needs fixing."

Akari sighed and threw her hand up to Hayden, her typical 'give-me-some-booze-now' signal. Kathy came bobbing over with a drink. Akari wasn't that big of a fan of Kathy; she never enjoyed seeing girls flounce about in short skirts, actively showing their mid-drift. She assumed that the reason why the farmer was nicer to Kathy in the late, fall and winter, seasons was because Kathy had the decency to cover up.

"Howdy! Cocktails for our favourite customers!" Kathy chirped, placing the glasses gently onto the table. The blonde gave a short bow and hopped away to talk to the other customers, asking for orders and making light conversations here and there.

"Look, Juli, I _really_ don't think you need to fix me. I'm fine as I am now, right?"

Julius scoffed, lifting a drink, pinkie up, to his lips, "But, _dear_, you're never going to get any attention from men if you look like that! Your clothes are always dirty and you have the fashion sense of a 12-year-old-boy. The least you can do is let me put some make-up on you."

"The least I can do is nothing, actually."

"Nothing but sit there and let me make you up? I'm glad you see it my way," the multi-colored boy giggled and sipped on his drink. Casually glancing up from his glass, he noticed the farm girl sigh heavily.

It wasn't that Akari _didn't_ want to makeover herself. She was always indifferent about her looks. The boys she grew up around rarely paid her attention and would shamelessly flirt with her prettier friends in front of the brunette. She had often wondered if something was wrong with guys, or rather, if something was wrong with her. Akari rather enjoyed who she really was, now that living independently was bringing out her true self.

"Akari," Julius said, adding a serious emphasis on her name, "What would the boy you have eyes for want you to look like?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you want to grab his attention?"

"I don't like anyone, Juli," Akari stated bluntly, "So it doesn't matter what I look like, right? Shouldn't I just be happy with my inner self?"

"Aki, dear, that's something that ugly people say."

"..."

_Giggle_.

"So you're saying I'm ugly? Thank you. I'm going to open some veins now," Akari huffed out; clearly not want to touch the issue of her self-esteem, or lack thereof.

"A lady shouldn't say such words!" Juli exclaimed. The rancher was never quite sure when Juli was being serious and when he was just being silly. But Akari would never admit to him that he was one of her favourite people on the island. She always had a soft spot for the blunt transvestite type.

The two friends conversed about their day and eventually prattled on about anecdotes of the past. Akari's stories revolved around her growing up and attending some ratty old public school; she mentioned her transition from her old home to her new one. Julius found himself talking about his past on the island. His stories of the past would often mention a certain 'blue-haired maiden.'

"Can I tell you something, Akari?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"I really like Candace I like her a lot. She was the only one that really accepted how different I was as a kid. My parents used to move to a lot of different places, but everywhere we went, all the boys refused to be my friend. Some would first mistake me for a girl, then after awhile, they would realize I was a boy and just be cruel to me. If they saw me picking flowers or playing with makeup, they'd beat me up. I didn't trust anyone after that. I grew really detached and started being mean to people just to protect myself. My mom would try to cover my bruises with some makeup, so I could feel better about myself. That only made it worse. But when I came to this island...

"When I came to this island, I met Candace. Well, I didn't _really_ meet her. She'd always run away and hide somewhere. But I saw her cry, once, behind that big tree near the town square. I don't know why but I remember walking up to her. I asked her why she was crying. She told me Luna said something horrible about her hair. I guess Candace got some gum in her hair and cut some of it off. It looked awful. I told her. She started crying some more. I couldn't help it and soon I started crying, too. We sat under that tree and just cried.

"We started hanging around each other all the time. We become each others strength. I never told her I was male, though, until I came back here. But when I told her about me, she only remembered all of the negative times we had together. I guess I was a horrible person, but... I really want to make things better! I really want her to depend on me, like how I depended on her!"

Akari smiled at the young man in front of her. It was rare to see him be so caring over someone. Even when he would talk about fashion, he was never this animated. He never showed a real soft or vulnerable side unless he was talking about his past.

"That's weird, right? What I said, that sounded weird?" He nervously fiddled with his fingers, a worried frown plastered on his face, juxtaposing with his typical confident self.

"I don't think it's weird at all, Julius. I think it's very like you to say something like that," the farmer giggled, admiring her friend's strength in speaking his troubles.

"Ah, ah. That's good. I'm glad," Julius sighed, happily returning to his drink.

"I wouldn't worry about it, though, Juli. You should tell her about it. No one hates to be told they're liked, right?"

"I try! But every time I do I end up insulting her and – hey, stop laughing! It's not funny!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

Julius sighed again, ranting about his love problems to Akari, who tried her best to comfort the man until he was done with talking. It was getting dark out and she knew she should head home. Standing up from her chair, she stretch herself out, loosening her muscles from the day's heavy work load, until a peep from Julius made her shift her attention onto him.

"Hey, Akari," Julius pondered, "What type of girls does Chase like?"

"Eh? I thought you were into Candace? Batting for the other team, now, are we?" Akari chirped, gleefully.

"No. It's just. I wonder what his relationship with Maya is. They seem to be chatting nicely over there," Juli pointed to the kitchen where a distraught Maya was handing a cake to the chef.

Akari subconsciously scowled at the scene and turned back to Juli, "We don't need to watch other people's private conversations. That's rude."

Juli raised an eyebrow, "Coming from you?"

Akari glared at the man who was raising himself from his chair. She craned her head into the kitchen again when her gaze got caught by Hayden.

"Time to roll out, you two!" Hayden boasted, loudly.

Walking to the counter, the two of them passed the bartender their payment and had a light conversation. Maya and Chase finished their bickering and made their way over to the tables to clean up the glasses and clear off the crumbs.

"Well, thanks for the drinks, Hayden! We'll come back soon!" Akari chirped, waving a goodbye to the bartender and his daughter. Julius mimed Akari's gesture and brought his arm down settling on the farmer's hip, guiding her to the door.

Akari took no notice of the gesture, seeing as how she was used to how physically affectionate Julius was at times. She hummed to herself and started plotting her work load for tomorrow in her head. Coyly, Julius arched his neck to face the direction of the apron-clad young man.

"Good night, Chase. Sweet dreams. You too, Maya, dear," he winked and giggled, tightening his grip on the young rancher who was seemingly in a daze. When the door closed Juli let go of Akari and offered to walk her home, which she willingly accepted.

_SPLAT!_

The strawberry blond furiously scrubbed the table, nearly wiping off a coat of varnish. Eyebrows knitted together downward, he picked up the rag again and slammed it onto another table.

_SPLAT!_

"Um. Chase?" Maya asked sweetly, attempting to calm the patissier before her, "Maybe... Maybe I should do this."

"Maya," Chase said, in a low tone, "Do you even know what a table _is_? I don't even think you have the capacity for that kind of 'First Grader' knowledge."

"But... But, I... I just wanted to..." Maya started tearing up, her face taking a pink hue, "Fine! You do that!"

"I will!"

"Fine!" Maya scuttled off to finish cleaning the glasses off, obviously hurt by her co-worker's words.

Chase sighed, annoyed at himself for snapping at Maya and made a mental note to be nicer to her later, if he could manage that. He followed through with the rest of his work and bidded a goodbye to his co-workers and boss. The chef made his way home, kicking the rocks on the ground and trying to figure out what caused him to get so upset anyway. Figuring it was just sleep-deprivation he shook his head, took out his key, and opened the door to his house.

* * *

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Akari finished her harvesting and tossed her final fall crops and animal products into the shipping bin. With the weather being what it was, she was sure she would end up becoming more tired as the fall season was ready to be switched into winter. She jumped, remembering she made an extra _herb fish_ dish that she was going to sell. Grabbing it quickly from her shack she ran back outside and swiftly placed it into the bin.

The farmer proudly put her hands on her hips and laughed whole-heartedly. She couldn't explain it, but she was in a much better mood than usual lately. Akari assumed it was because winter was about to happen. She never looked forward to different seasons, but Waffle Island made it hard for her to not be enraptured by the nature. She enjoyed taking walks along the beach and viewing the sunset. Typically, on a slightly cloudy day like this, she would walk up to the mountain and maybe chat with some of the residents.

Knowing that she was done with her work for the day and that the afternoon was soon to turn into night, she decided a nice stroll around the Ganache Mine District would be lovely. Bouncing up the mountain, she started preparing some initial conversation starters just in case she ran into someone. Akari waved to Dale, who was busy teaching Bo some sort of carpentry skill, but went along her way, not wanting to bother them.

"Oh, what's this? A lost kitten?"

Akari jerked her head in the direction of the voice. Frowning, she hopped passed the person, who quickly sped up to her to match her pace.

"Aki, dear, are you done with your work?"

"Yes."

"Good!" Julius exclaimed, grabbing her wrist and dragging her towards his house, "I'm done with my work, so let's give you a makeover!"

"Julius, I don't want one."

"But you need one," cooed the flamboyant man, who swiftly opened his door and sat her down on a chair. He began grabbing a bunch of make-up, matching her skin tone and chatting happily away to the disturbed farm-girl.

This was one of those times where Akari had no clue how to deal with the young man. He was well-meaning but he was always so troublesome and never really listened. But he didn't listen in the same way as Luke didn't listen, which could be seen as a positive thing. Luke would just talk over the person, but he was always good for cheering you up. Juli, while he would take in what you were saying, would disregard whatever he didn't want to hear and force himself on a person.

"- put this primer on."

"Wha'?"

"Primer. You put primer on to make your face seem flawless, dear. You use it before foundation."

"Oh."

Julius fiddled with Akari's face some more, slathering on an onslaught of make-up, ranging from cream foundation to setting powder to eyebrow wax. It wasn't until the transformation was over, however, that Akari could look at her face.

Julius clapped his hands, praising his skills as a makeover artist. Handing her a mirror, he excitedly asked her what she thinks about her new look. Akari, lifting the mirror to her eyes' level, stared at her face.

"I look like a clown. And my face feels heavy."

"But you like it, right?"

"Not really."

Julius fell back into a chair, downhearted, "I just thought that if you looked better, maybe people would notice you more."

"Eh? Why should that matter?"

"Well, because..."

"I don't want people to look at what I am, or what I look like. I want people to look at who I am. "

"Maybe you're right. We'll have to see," Julius chuckled and smirked at the now confused rancher. He carefully got up and lifted the girl from her chair. He brushed some stray hairs out of her eyes and smiled down at her. Grabbing her hand he made his way to the doorframe. He lifted her chin so farmer's eyes could focus on his, as he bent down and gave Akari a quick peck on the cheek. Julius grabbed the door handle and glided Akari out of his house.

"It was fun, Aki, dear, but I'm rather tired. Let's have some more play dates in the future, though," he smiled at the now _very_ confused rancher, "By the way, it's a nice night. Maybe you should take a nightly walk."

"Yeah, I may."

"Good luck, then," he blew a kiss and closed the door on the now _immensely_ confused rancher. Akari slouched over, trying to figure out what the young man meant by "good luck." Giving up thinking, she decided to take a short walk to take her mind off of the arbitrary situation she was thrust into.

Shoving her hands into her pocket, she began thinking about how strange Julius was acting recently. With the confession of his interest in Candace, she knew he wasn't pining for her. But she couldn't understand why he was so affectionate to her lately.

Akari was left to her musing until she heard a snap coming from in front of her. Raising her head, slightly perturbed by the sudden sound, she was confronted by a bemused strawberry blond in apron, holding some bags in this left hand.

"Chase?"

"You're acting like you've never seen me before."

"I wish."

"You're as charming as ever."

"Maybe when you grow up and pass puberty, you can be as charming as me."

"I can only wish. Sadly, I don't think I'll ever be as manly as you, sir."

"Manly? Have you seen my face?"

Chase quirked a brow and opened the door to his place, "I can't see anything out here. Come inside."

Akari shoved her hands in her pockets further and quickly walked over the threshold, making her way to a chair and plopping herself down. She watched the chef put some bags on the kitchen counter top and unload vegetables and wine from the bag's embrace. Deftly placing all the food and drinks in their respective places, he casually turned his body to look at the farmer.

"..."

"..."

Chase threw a hand to his lips, smothering his laughter, as his right arm held his stomach. He was hunched over, trying to contain himself, until his hand left his lips and placed itself haphazardly in the tangles of his hair as his amusement rang clear.

"Your face! It's priceless! I want to take a picture!"

"Chase!"

"No, no, seriously! Sit still!" Chase positioned himself in front of the young girl, still giggling, and made a picture frame with his fingers. Closing them quickly and opening them to their original right angles, he looked at the fuming farmer, then back to his positioned hands. Sighing, Chase slouched with his shoulders and dejectedly purred, "Damn, you blinked."

"..."

"Look, you just don't suit makeup, is all," the patissier shrugged and walked over to the kitchen counter.

"I know!"

"If you know, why did you put it on?"

"Juli attacked me."

"Ah," Chase said sternly, grabbing a dish towel and putting some water on the cloth, "You don't need to cater to his whims, you know."

"I don't like it at all. But it makes him happy."

"I see," Chase murmured, running the wet dishcloth against her skin, "Well, you guys are a good couple, I guess."

"Eh? We're not a couple. He likes Ca-," Akari's eyes widened considerably and she threw a hand up to her mouth, cussing in her head for nearly slipping up. Chase stared at her, startled for a moment, before chuckling and continuing to wipe off her make-up.

"Maybe he's trying to make someone jealous?"

"I don't think Candace is the jealous type."

"_Heh_. You're probably right. Jeez, woman, how much makeup do you have on?"

"I don't know. I kind of just closed my eyes and waited for him to finish."

"... I'm going to disregard that last sentence. But seriously, you probably have enough make-up on your face to fill the entire Grand Canyon."

"Well, get it off!"

"I'm trying! Jeez, this stuff really sticks, huh?"

Akari grabbed the rag out of Chase's hands and made her way to the sink. Rubbing the makeup off as much as she could, she turned to Chase to get his opinion.

"You look like a raccoon."

"Gee, thanks, you know how to make a woman blush," Akari deadpanned, turning back to the sink and wetting the rag again. Chase appeared behind the woman, the warmth of his chest steaming the young farmer's back. His hands rested atop her shoulders until his right hand slide itself down her arm to connect to the cloth in her hand. Spinning her around, he raised the hand that held the rag up to her face and started cleaning away the running mascara. Once the black smears were cleaned off, Chase dropped the towel in the sink and placed his hands on Akari's face.

"Look, Akari, you're amazing just as you are. You don't need to change, okay?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on doing so any time soon."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. That's not like you," Chase chuckled, "Besides. If I were a woman, I would love to have a face like yours. Your face is so beautiful; I'd want to skin graft it onto mine."

"... I never realized how creepy you are until now."

The chef snickered and took his hands off the farmer. He moved beside her to clean the mess of water that pooled around the sink. Akari grabbed some dry towels and swiftly made her way about the counter, cleaning it in harmony with Chase. It was then Akari noticed the smell of Chase's room more obviously than she had before. The sweet smell of oranges and sandalwood created an interesting mix. The rancher always connected oranges to the man, but she was never sure if the fragrance came from the man or the room.

"Hey, Chase."

"Hm?"

"Ever like oranges?"

"Gosh, no. I hate 'em."

"Whenever I smell something orange-y, I associate it with you, y'know that?"

"Really? Well, I guess that's obvious. Oranges _are_ my favourite fruit so I probably smell like them. 'Scent' is the sense most tied to memory, after all," Chase explained, folding up the towel he held and placing on the sink faucet, "And I guess 'common' is the sense least tied to people."

Akari giggled at the young man beside her. When she first met the boy, he was rude, obnoxious and just plain aggravating. Through some minor conversations he began to get more used to her. When she started asking him more personal questions, however, he began to open up. He was someone with whom she could butt heads with, yet always count on. In a way, she really enjoyed starting this questioning game with Chase. It was nice to get to know someone she felt so in tune with.

"Ah!"

Chase looked over at the girl beside him, brows furrowed, quizzically staring at her bewildered expression.

"I forgot! I shipped a dish today! I get to ask you a question, right?"

"I believe that was the rule, yes."

"Then," Akari paused, trying to come up with some question to ask him, "Then... what type of girls do you like?"

"Huh?" Chase jerked back, flinching, feeling like he was punched in the stomach and never saw it coming, "Why are you even asking such a question?"

"You have to answer."

"Well," Chase coughed irratibly, "I'm not sure anyone can have a certain 'type.' I do, however, know the type of people I wouldn't want to go out with."

"But that's just avoiding my question!"

"Fine! Well, I'm blunt and sarcastic. I have a tendency to say things that hurt others, whether I mean to or not. I'd need to be with a person who can put up with me. I'd like to find someone like that. Someone that understands who I am. Ah, in terms of looks, though... I like girls that are cute. I wouldn't want to date someone that looked 'hot' or 'sexy.' I wouldn't want other guys to think about the person I loved in that way. Fashion doesn't concern me, either. But I'd want her to be healthy, though, and have a good appetite. Why ask a question like that, anyway? Isn't that a bit weird?"

"Juli asked me what types of girls you were into."

"I'm not into men. So I think that rules him out," Chase stated flatly, "What type of men are you into, then?"

Akari laughed nervously and started shuffling her feet to the door, "I don't really have a type. Or anything like that. I don't think too much about it. My preferences change a lot, too. I guess I'd like someone that could be fun, yet also serious. A person that doesn't get on my nerves all the time, really. I'm not that into relationships, though."

"You _say_ you aren't into relationships, when _really_ you're just trying to play hard to get."

"No."

"There you go again. I can't say that it's working, yet."

"... 'Kay, so I'm going now. I'll leave you with your delusions," Akari brushed off, opening the door of Chase's house and taking a step out. Chase walked up to the door and to the farmer who was now standing in front of him. Ruffling her hair as if she were a child, the chef smiled down at the woman.

"Good night, Chase!"

"You, too. Sleep tight; remember, there's somebody out there thinking of you," Chase said encouragingly, "And wondering how to turn you into a dress."

"... Asshole."

"Miss you already!"

* * *

I really love Juli/Candace. Like. So much. I really, really, love them. I have so many unfinished chapters I should probably get on. Haha. ... Ha?

Also, has anyone ever tried to get certain makeup off? One of my best friends is a cosmetician and I've attended some cosmetology classes with her so I learned a lot about makeup. But I learned even more when I killed an eyelid trying to scrub off some Gosh brand liquid eyeliner. Hated it then, love it now.


	13. Letters

Doin' a little 'connecting to my reviewers' in this chapter. So ShadetheEchidna666, look out. Also, I love you guys. Every. Single. One. Of. You. (Enough to do that awkward period thing that I hate.) In the beginning of writing this, I said you guys should submit questions and the like. Now that we've all established a relationship (Yes, I think we're there.) I may start adding in little bits of your reviews and such since you guys give me such inspiration!

So don't be surprised if I randomly put your username in the top of a chapter. Just means you inspired some part of the story.

Also, WTFCHASE? FLIP FLOPS? IN WINTER? I will not allow that.

_

* * *

_

"_Out of the ash/I rise with my red hair/And I eat men like air._"

"Is this your way of coming out, Chase?"

The beginning of the blustery season brought a cover of snow to Waffle Island. While most of the animals and mammals were recluse around this time of the year, huddled in their habitats, waiting for spring, the villagers were out, hurriedly making their way back to their homes. As snow gently drifted down and filled the sunken traps of powder made from the footprints of the townspeople, the smell of burning wood arose into the air, dancing with the falling flakes.

"It's part of a poem."

"Ah. I see."

"You're so not cute," Chase huffed out, taking a hand out of his pocket, and poked Akari's forehead with his finger. Akari flailed her arms about as she was pushed back by the pressure. The rancher let out an annoyed cry.

"Argh! Don't do that!"

"Do what?" Chase poked her forehead again, pushing her back further until she lost her balance and fell in the snow. He smiled down at the farmer, "My, my. Aren't you clumsy!"

"Shut it!" Akari attempted to push herself off the ground before scoffing at the outreaching hand of the smiling chef. Slapping his hand away, with a glare in her eyes, she picked herself off the ground, turned her back to him, and started walking along the Caramel District path. She looked behind her at the patissier who was dressed for the season. His regular chef's apron was tossed over an arm; he sported a black pea coat with a navy scarf around his neck. His normally thong-clad feet were covered in dark shoes.

The blizzard that hit the island a day prior made all the villagers extra cautious of the change in seasons; they bundled up more than usual, as they always did after a storm. But when Akari made her way from the farm house down to the town she happened to run into a very confused chef. Confused, she thought, because he was wearing sandals in the snow. They argued for a while before Chase, who decided the fight was going nowhere, went back inside his house to change. After coming out, the pair decided to take a short walk around the town.

"I'd prefer if you undressed me with your hands rather than your eyes, Akari."

"..."

"Then again, it _is_ you, so I'd probably pass on the undressing session in general."

"..."

"You're still doing it. The eyes, I mean. I'm a rather timid creature, but if you insist. Well. Please be gentle."

"Go get hypothermia."

"You're rather cold."

"I don't want to talk to someone like you. You're annoying."

"I know what you mean. Talking to someone like you should count as public service."

"Ugh!" Akari shouted, throwing her arms up and trampling into town with a light-hearted chef at her side. Her frantic steps died down and she began a slow journey, walking in step with the man beside her. They were both going to go to the town hall for separate reasons, but ending up as a pair. Chase had recently finished reading one of his favourite books and decided that a trip to the library would be valuable.

"So is this library good?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. I've never really checked it out."

"Of course _you_ haven't. But I was thinking maybe you'd at least know what was in it. Guess I over-estimated you."

Akari jabbed her elbow into his side, growling, and made her way up the steps to the town square. Chase, who was grabbing his side, frowned lightly before smiling and followed the farmer in tow. Once at the top of the town square the two of them stopped in their tracks, unknowingly admiring the scenery.

The blizzard had left some sheets of snow on the ground which covered the design of the square. A new design of footprints had been left in its place. The town hall exterior was also covered and looked fresh as a faint sunlight cascaded from the clouds and glittered on the snow, producing a holy veneer.

Chase pushed himself from the top of the steps; Akari noticed his actions and hopped to catch up to speed with the chef. Making their way quietly to the door, Chase grabbed the handle and deftly held it open for the young farmer to make her way inside where she was greeted by the cheerful counter girl.

"Ah, Akari! Oh, and you're with Chase. Hello," Elli chirped cheerfully. Akari waved at the girl and pointed Chase to the stairs that leaded to the library. He wandered up the steps and disappeared. The rancher turned to the weather girl and smiled brightly.

"Hey Elli."

"Akari – that guy, do you chat with him a lot? He doesn't seem as unpleasant as usual."

"Hm," Akari thought, placing a finger to her lips, "I guess. We do talk a lot, actually. Almost every day, I think."

"Really?" Elli beamed, clasping her hands together, "That's so romantic!"

"Eh? No. Not really. We're just friends."

"Maybe now, but what about in the future?"

"If there is a god, I would not end up with him," the rancher deadpanned, attempting to stifle the conversation.

"Oh, but –"

"Look," Akari huffed out, disheartened by the issue, "Let's drop it. You need help, right?

"Yes, please!" Elli cried cheerfully, handing the farmer a stack of papers and chatting lightly with the girl. The town hall had been snowed in during the blizzard, so there was a lot of work that Gill and Elli had to complete.

A couple hours of volunteering around workplace and Akari was exhausted. She had forgotten how tough her part time job at the town hall was. Elli patted the girl on the back and thanked her for her services. Slouching over the weather girl's desk, she rested her forehead on the wood until her ears caught a light conversation that crescendoed next to her. Her head still rested on the oak top but turned itself near the direction of the voices.

"Well, you two are getting along," Akari stated, watching the mayor's son and the chef happily make their way down the stairs, chattering about whatever topic had captured them. Gill had been loaded up with books in his arms that held some sheets of paper in between the covers; he looked to Akari when her voice rang out. Chase perked up, locking eyes with Akari, and shifted the book and the apron in his arms around for a more comfortable position until replying.

"Notoriously."

"Oh? Do you know Akari well, Chase?" Gill inquired, looking at the strawberry blond beside him. He made his way over to his desk and placed the stack of books down. He looked up to the chef that stationed himself near the farmer, smiling gleefully at her and poking her in the cheek with the book he found.

"Yeah. She begged to tag along with me. I'm so pious that I had to accept. It's like a duty, of sorts."

"Perhaps I'm overstretching my boundaries, but you two don't seem like a good pair. You and I just had an intelligent conversation over literature. As far as I can recall, Akari hasn't been up to the library once, out of interest. Are you sure you can handle being around someone of Akari's intelligence, Chase?"

"Well," Chase mused, crossing his arms over his chest, "To associate it with something you would understand, being around her would be the latter part of: _or walk with kings, nor lose the common touch._"

"Ah," the heir of the town breathed out in understanding, "Well, I suppose that makes a world of sense. I can understand that completely. She definitely is fitting for that line."

Akari looked at Elli, who shrugged in response and mouthed the word: "Boys."

"Although, Chase, if you would like to _walk with kings,_ you should perhaps visit the library more often. Idle chatter with commoners is one thing, but if you indulge in it too much you could get lost."

"Oh Gill, you're so sweet to pander to my needs. You'd make such a good wife. But I think this commoner here needs someone as cultured as me in her life. She's pretty lost already."

Gill glared at the chef and straightened the papers in his hand, "At least you two can annoy each other together."

"Exactly!" Chase beamed. He placed a hand on Akari's back and pushed her to the doorframe; they bid a short 'goodbye' to the town hall workers and left, bickering about whatever topic had come out of their mouths.

Elli giggled to herself; Gill quirked a brow.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking," Elli continued, "That boy would never have joked around like that, or even talked to you, if Akari hadn't started speaking to him."

"Is that so?" Gill pondered, staring at the door that had closed behind the pair.

The air was crisp as the snow kept slowing falling. Their previous prints lay filled with fresh powder; the afternoon was making its way into the world. A cascade of orange light flooded the town and bounced off the snow, shining on the blanket, and erupt the drift in a blaze – as if a fire was spread through the tiny town.

Chase shoved the small book into a pocket of his apron that was still lingering on his arm. His hands found their way into his pockets, searching for warmth. From his peripheral he looked down at the young farmer that was smiling gently, slightly humming to herself. Her heels clicked on the ground.

"So why did you need to go to the Town Hall?" Chase asked, craning his head to look at the bemused farmer below him. Her eyes locked onto his and she shrugged.

"I was sending a letter to my friend, Emma. Her birthday was a while ago, but I was so busy with farming that I was late to send it off."

"Do you really think its fine sending that letter out now?"

"Well, yeah. I do this a lot so people are used to it and my friends back home are really happy to hear that I'm still alive. Don't you send mail to your friends, too?" Akari said, nonchalantly imitating Chase's body and shoving her hands in her pockets, too. She looked up at the man beside her and watched him shift awkwardly in place.

"I never played with anyone as a kid. I didn't have time to make friends with anyone, anyway. Not that I don't mind. People are annoying. I'm glad I didn't waste my time as a kid being an idiot with them. I prefer being alone, anyway," the chef said, digging his hands into his pockets further and staring down at the trampled snow on the pavement.

"Really?" Akari questioned, "Because from looking at you, you seem like you were probably a really lonely kid. One that didn't like being alone."

Chase recoiled, staring into Akari's tawny eyes, and held his mouth slightly open, taking in a shallow breath of cold winter air. The farmer stared back and blinked, but a faint smile appeared on her face. She raised her hand to the top of his head and ruffled his hair a bit.

"Well," she breathed out, "I guess it doesn't matter. Since, after all, we're friends now, right? So you're not lonely anymore."

The patissier, at a loss of words, just shook his head and coughed lightly into a hand he dug up from his jacket pocket. A tinge of red filtered itself to the top of his cheeks and he rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"What's with that face?"

"Ha?"

"You're red. Too cold?" Akari inquired.

"Ye-yeah. Yeah!" Chase shouted brightly, "That's it. Too cold. Hahaha."

"... You're acting weird, but okay. Just don't get sick. I don't want your germs in my food, whether they're healthy or otherwise."

"I heard my germs have magical healing powers, though."

"No."

Chase smiled, "You say no, but you mean yes. There you go, playing hard to get again."

"Go die."

"You always say that. Can't you get a better catchphrase?"

"..."

"Can't come up with anything, can you?"

"... Shut up."

* * *

I converted one of my best friends to Harvest Moon-ism. I gave her my ToT disc since I play AP now. If I mess up some info, blame her.

Also, she's going to marry either Luke or Owen. Why Owen? I don't know. Probably 'cause he's easy and you can woo him with alcohol. I've been raving about Chase to her, though. I feel insanely creepy doing so. Like, "OMG CHASE SAID THIS! AND THEN I TALKED TO HIM AND HE BLUSHED AND I WAS ALL "AWW!"" ... I'm hoping some of you share this awkward feeling with me. In a related note, I love cats and am going to go eat my emotions.

I think out of all the bachelors Chase [Julius and Calvin, too, but whatever] would be the most cultured one. Gill and Jin would be intelligent. But Jin's seems strictly _doctorly_ intelligent. And Gill is just a nerd. (I heart them both, though!)

And, do you guys like Chase as a redhead or a blond? He's differs in terms of games. I like my men red-headed, though.


	14. Testing Waters

Sorry for the wait, but, y'know... I think you guys won't mind so much this time. LONG CHAPTER IS LONG.

* * *

_You are cordially invited to a singles' celebration!_

_Please drop by the Sundae Inn for a couple of drinks on the evening of the 9__th__. The host, Julius, will be awaiting your presence. Come prepared to discuss such issues as:_

_- Why you're single: how to understand that love hates you._

_- Why no one will ever love you: how to become a self-important narcissist._

_- Why love hurts: how to use physical/emotional abuse to get what you want._

_Drunken karaoke may ensue. Please be advised to know cheesy, horrible, or the conglomeration of both, songs so your talent (or lack thereof) will be on display for people to see. No needs for an RSVP, since, let's face it, you're single; what else are you going to be doing?_

Akari growled and crumpled the invitation in her hands.

This was one of those times where Akari was on the fence about her relationship with the estrogen-charged man. She didn't mind his arrogance, or his insults, but she did hate how he mocked her. Sure, Akari was one to mock back, but Julius was always mischievous rather than blunt like her. Sending invitations were just one of the many ways he always annoyed her.

And she was the only one.

She was always the only one to whom Julius would send these little slips of off-white paper.

It's not like she _didn't_ enjoy the transvestite's attention, but rather, she preferred if he bogged someone else down with his pretentiousness. Or, at the very least, he should invite other people into his web so she wouldn't be the only person to be caught.

The farmer had received the letter in her shoddily-built mailbox that morning; it was sealed with maroon wax that had been pressed down by something which formed an elegant design on the top. Bits of gold leaf seemed to float, magically still, on the letter. When Akari broke the seal and opened the letter she skimmed over the black-inked cursive which looped gracefully upon the page; the farmer had sighed and stuffed the letter in her pocket and went about her menial chores of the day.

But in the evening, Akari sat at her dining table, starring down in her hands at the letter that she had just crumpled up with great fervour. She attempted to throw the balled up paper into a nearby trashcan, but it ended up bouncing off the rim and rolled itself onto the floor in front of her, mocking her. She groaned. Placing her hands heavily on the table in front of her, she attempted to remove herself from the chair – to little success. The day had taken its toll on the young woman and all she wanted to do was lie in bed and sleep.

_Knock knock knock._

Akari stared, unimpressed, at the door. Deciding against her best judgement, she remained seated, groaning quietly to herself.

_Knock knock knock knock._

She glared at the door this time and lazily moved her body away from the offending sounds. Closing her eyes, she knit her brow and attempted to lull herself into a state of light sleep.

_Knock knock knock._

It persisted.

Akari was more than a little peeved; she was trying to wallow in her own self-anguish and some uncouth idiot was attempting to steal her attention away. She wasn't in the mood to listen to anymore knocking, lest she wanted to go into an arbitrary rant to herself about the foul noise. Kicking herself out of her chair, she traipsed to the door and lethargically opened the wooden barrier.

"Why hello there, Aki, fancy meeting you here, huh?"

_Blink._

"Well, let's go. We have to drink our sorrow away!"

"The only sorrow I have right now is that I became friends with an idiot like you, Juli."

"I'm flattered!" Julius fluttered about, grabbing Akari by the wrist and pulling her happily down to the bar. The farmer spluttered a vast amount of swear words in his wake.

Several obscenities and giggle fits later, the pair stood at the front of the bar. The night air was chilling their insides; Akari's teeth chattered in the darkness. The lamplight glowed over their heads and cast ghostly shadows onto the floor. Akari assumed that was her soul's way of escaping the hell Julius probably had in store for her. But the young farmer relented, allowing her to get whisked, yet again, away by the man.

Opening the doors, the two were greeted with a rush of hot air. The warmth of the bar invited them in, wrapping itself around them and pulled them closer to its heart until they were sitting at a table, basking in the feel of the place.

Kathy noticed the newcomers and made her way over to the pair, "Howdy. What'll ya have?"

Akari's mind was somewhere else. She was feeling too relieved to be out of the cold to answer and anything that came out of her mouth morphed into a soft sigh. Julius, preoccupied with talking to Kathy about their favourite flavours of drinks, didn't notice a bobby-pin-clad young man make his way over to their table.

Chase smirked at the farmer who was still revelling in the warmth, so much so that she was oblivious to her surroundings. He grabbed a menu from underneath his arm and swat at the girl in the face. Flustered by the sudden contact she gesticulated wildly before resting her eyes on the chef.

"Sorry. There was something on your face."

"Yeah, it's called a nose."

Kathy had reappeared with drinks for Julius and Akari. The farmer shook her head, trying to remember when Kathy had left. Or, better yet, how had she known what she wanted to drink. Looking up at the face of the man across from her, his eyeliner-enriched eye winked at the young girl as he took a sip.

Her hair was ruffled and laid sprawled out on her head – the aftermath of Chase patting her hair before he turned to leave. Fixing it, briefly, she focused her attention onto her drink.

Akari was bad with alcohol.

Scratch that, Akari was _really_ bad with alcohol.

She could sip it, but she knew that wasn't in the night's plan. This night was a night for drinking and 'forgetting her sorrows,' as Julius had said. The farmer grumbled and lifted the drink to her mouth. The smell made her nose cringe and, as the liquid slid down her throat, she frowned.

A gulp down.

Another gulp down.

She was feeling slightly light-headed.

Smiling, half-heartedly, at the boy in front of her, she finished off her drink. Julius beamed content that Akari was at least going along with his plan. He lifted a hand up, calling Kathy for another round of drinks in order to drag Akari through the harsh waters of intoxication again.

"Juli, I'm fine," the farmer mewed out.

"Didn't I tell you to drink until your troubles are gone? That also means until you can't speak, Aki."

"Why? I don't see the _point_," Akari drawled out, batting the air weakly. Noticing how pathetic and ungraceful her gesture was, she started laughing. Kathy placed a drink in front of the rancher and bounced away again.

Akari giggled, looking down at her drink, "Why's it pink? Pink's a stupid color for a pink – I mean drink. It's like I'm drinking diluted blood. Am I a vampire?"

"Possibly."

"I don't want to be a vampire."

"Well, too bad. It's either that or a zombie."

"Neither. I am a ghost."

"Touché."

"Touch."

"Touch?"

"Yes."

Julius stared at the young girl, wondering if getting Akari to drink was for the best. He sat, occasionally sipping his cosmopolitan, and stared at the farmer who was attempting to make animals with her hands. The two made incoherent conversation for a while, babbling on about whatever topic the drunken farmer had decided to propose. When her drink was finished she looked glumly down to the table.

Her body was hot – matching the burning sensation on her throat. The air was dry; the regulars at the bar were chatting loudly and the music in the background was buzzing around their heads. Akari started to shift in her chair under the dim yellow lights, garnering a look from the jewellery maker.

"I'm chair dancing. Join me!" Akari laughed, moving her body more erratically.

"I don't think I'm as good as you, dear."

"Pffft," she sniggered out, moving her chair close to Julius and grabbing his hands, "You just need to feel the beat. And the rhythm. And just dance."

Julius fumbled, making faces at the farmer as she returned them and continued joyfully laughing, singing slurred lyrics. Song transitioned into song and the woman hadn't relented. Continuing her chair dancing, the boy took her drink and noticed the contents were empty.

Cocking his head to the side, he wondered how long her excited demeanour would last without any more sustenance. He had never seen the young woman drunk, or buzzed, and would admit that it was a bit disturbing; seeing her so happy and carefree was a definite change from her indifference or her cynicism.

"Aki, darling, perhaps we should head home. You'll be too tired to work if you stay up late."

"N_o_," she drawled out the vowel sound as long as she could in a childish manner, "I'ma gonna get an-ana-ana-o-ah-th-er drink. _Hehehe_."

The girl hopped out of her chair and clumsily made her way to the bar counter. Propping herself up on a stool, she waved to Hayden for a cocktail and hummed delightedly to herself. The muscular man smiled warmly at the girl, passing her a drink.

Akari started stroking the bar's counter, as her hands made her way to the shaft of her glass. Picking the drink up as delicate as an alcoholic could, spilling some of its contents onto her lap and the wooden shelf her coaster was on, she begun serving it into her mouth.

An arm grazed her side. She looked down to where her body had started to tingle from contact. Looking perplexedly at the spot, she couldn't see anything that would cause her the sensation, so she shifted her attention back to her drink.

"Hey, beautiful," a husky voice bellowed on her opposite side. A faint smell of the earth laced itself with the vodka on the apprentice's breath.

"Hi!" Akari boosted exuberantly, staring face-to-face with the muscular miner of the island, "I'm sorry. I'm far too drunk to argue that I'm actually ugly. Maybe next time?"

"_Heh_. I hear ya. Should we schedule something, then? We can make time for each other, right?" Owen questioned red-face from the alcohol. Appearing sluggish in comparison to his natural dirty-but-up kept look, he slung a robust arm around Akari's neck.

"_Uhm_," Akari buzzed out, feeling awkward under the weight that covered her and from the awkward proposal from the man. She was at a loss for words and attempted to struggle a response out, but to no avail.

"Maybe I should take the lead in this, huh?" Owen chuckled lightly, exhaling a whisky-laden breath into the farmer's visage as his lips made their way up to her ear. He was about to whisper something before a sardonic voice spoke up on the opposite side of Akari.

"You should let go of her; she's not about to make good decisions. You shouldn't be hitting on drunken girls, anyway. Do you have any pride in yourself as a man?"

"Huh? What does it matter to you? You ain't her boyfriend," Owen slurred out, his arm still hanging haphazardly over Akari's shoulder, and sneered at the chef in victory. His smile vanished when Chase beamed back a bright and refreshing smile that he often used on customers. The chef's voice took on a saccharine pitch.

"I don't think she approves of drunkards hitting on her with ill intentions. Please sober up and try again."

Owen scoffed, rolling his eyes and childishly argued, "I can hit on her when I wan'."

"When you're in the proper state-of-mind, fine. But not when you're looking at her like that."

"Answer my question."

"What question?" Chase asked, his grin didn't falter as he innocently tilted his head to the side and clasped his hands together behind him. His sunny disposition still held up as Owen's annoyance to the fair-haired man increased.

"Just do it. Where the fuck is your misguided smartass answer for that one?"

"To which _one_? I don't even remember any _twos_ and _threes_ and _halves_. Maybe _birds_ and _bees_."

"Can't answer? Heh, guess I own you," the apprentice laughed bitterly, his arm dropping to the dazed farmer's waist, causing Chase's smile to twitch slightly. Owen noticed the strawberry blond man in front of him falter. Chuckling lightly, Owen waited for the chef's rebuttal.

"Seeing as how you haven't paid for your drinks, I can take your body as collateral. I guess I own you, then, huh?"

"Pfft, wrong 'own.' And Chase, the only thing _you_ own is a lifetime of seeking approval through being an asshole."

"Seeing as how I have fans as dedicated as you, I guess I got said approval in spades."

"I'll go out on a limb," Owen started up, attempting to sober himself as he carefully picked his words and slowly started speaking, "And guess that your asshole personality came about because you're attempting to justify all the women you were in relationships with kicking you out on your ass."

"You mean, kicking my head out of my ass? Yes, that's what I treasure in women. Some people go: I want my significant other to treat me like a fucking ancient relic statue, like gold, you name it. I like women who can challenge me, help me to keep my feet on the ground, and kick my mind wide open."

"_Hah! _ You're just saying stuff. You're grabbin' at straws now."

"In that case, why don't you try and drown me?" Chase questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're drowning yourself."

"The only thing I'm doing right now is proving that you're the most unbelievable drunken asshat to ever hit this bar. Not that there's any proof needed, but some people might need me to attract attention to this horrible and hilarious fact," at this, the chef's smile faded and a bitter scowl was carved in its place. He walked protectively closer to the tipsy farmer who seemed oblivious to the scene being played out in front of her. Akari giggled and sipped her cocktail, kicking her feet underneath herself like a little kid on a chair that's too high.

"You think you know me?"

"I know that you're a drunken asshat."

Owen growled, his face getting redder from anger, "You know what? I'm an asshat now _just_ to piss you off."

"That is correct – except it's not just now. You are, always were, and always will be the stupidest asshat this bar has had the misfortune of seeing."

"Whatever, Chase, your respect is worth fuck all and shit nothing."

"It makes sense when you say it, since you have none of my respect."

Owen scoffed, releasing himself from the rancher's waist, and posturing himself into a fighting stance, hands clenched in front of him. Chase remained calm and stared at the man for a while until the cook craned his head to a certain figure that was bobbing about the room.

"Oi, Kath', your boyfriend is drunk and attempting to pick-up this scrawny young boy," the patissier lamely stated, grabbing the farmer's arms and flapping them about, causing her to giggle at the sudden movement. The barmaid sighed heavily, trotting over to the muscular man and taking him by the ear to a table where she vehemently ranted at him.

Akari's smile brightened as she looked up at Chase who was still holding onto her arms as if they were loose threads. The scene has diluted but the young woman's drunken stupor raged on. Chase looked around for the multicoloured boy that the girl detached from her side; he noticed the bright boy sipping a cocktail, gleefully, watching the pair in bemused mirth. He popped up from his seat and made his way over to the two, hair and ruffles bending in his sway.

"My, my. Seems like underneath that brusque attitude you're actually a knight in slightly tarnished armour. Maybe you should polish your garb some more. Akari looks like she enjoys you like that," the jeweller pointed down to the farmer who was now clinging onto Chase's waist and nuzzled into his side. The chef's arms were crossed over his chest as he wore annoyed frown.

"She's drunk. She enjoys _everything_ right now. Just look," he strained, looking down at the young girl attached to him, "Akari, you wanna go fight some lions?"

The farmer's face, red from the pressure and friction of rubbing it on Chase's side, shot up to lock her with the patissier's eyes. Grinning as if she had just received praise from the Buddha, she nodded enthusiastically and attempted to splutter out a positive response.

"See?"

Julius just chuckled and elegantly held a hand to his face in thought – or what Chase assumed, was mischief. The fashionably-inclined young man purred, "You're right. I guess she's a bit too drunk. Can you take her home, please? Don't worry, I'll chat with Hayden about your leaving early. He'll understand."

Chase quirked a brow, quizzically, before sighing, and haplessly agreed to take the young girl home. After watching Julius strut off to talk to Hayden, the strawberry blonde targeted his arms on the girl's wrist, attempting to pry off her death grip on his torso.

"The hell? You know, if farmer doesn't work out, you could always have a job as being the Jaws of Life. Damn, you're strong."

Akari giggled underneath him, loosening her grip in order to throw her arms straight up in the air. She looked at Chase, swaying her hands in order to garner his attention to them, and yelped lightly. The cook, amused and slightly perplexed by her actions, hesitated, and cautiously brought his arms up to his, clapping their palms together. The farmer grabbed his hands as they dropped their limbs to their sides.

"Okay, Akari. Time to get up. Off the stool, now," Chase instructed as if he were talking to a child. Akari followed his words and hopped off, stumbling a bit before Chase gripped her waist tightly. Her shirt had ridden up throughout the night, causing a sliver of flesh to peek through. The pale skin clashed harshly with the tan she had developed on her face, neck and arms from hours of labouring in the sun. The chef moved his hand around her body for better stability in holding the clumsy girl up; his finger slipped, unknowingly, into the sliver.

Baby steps, at first.

Short, small, baby steps were taken until they were out of the door and trotting the beaten path back to the farmer's house. Akari had fumbled numerous times throughout their walk, giggling to herself as Chase just prayed to every religious figurehead that she wasn't going to puke on him.

When they had finally reached her cottage, he stood her up beside him, pressing her body against his in case she fell. His hand caressed the doorknob as he gently opened the wooden board that separated them from the inside. An arm still placed protectively on her waist pushed the young girl inside. He struggled in getting the girl to move at the bar, but she when was finally in her own house and was released from his grip she bolted to the bathroom.

Chase fell back into a chair and waited for the young woman to come out. After a quick flush was heard, then the running of water, the farmer came out looking much more relieved than before.

"I peed up a storm."

"Classy."

More giggles erupted from the girl's mouth as the chef stood up, walking over to her. He spun her around, facing into the bathroom, and started to direct her into her previous location. His hands grasped her upper arms until they were both fully in the bathroom and staring into the mirror.

"Alright, we're going to do a sobriety test now: how many times do you have to attempt to put toothpaste on your brush before you need me to do it for you? There's a prize and a punishment to this test."

Akari glanced up at the man at the word 'punishment.' She reached for her toothbrush; her hand was shaking with nerves, thinking of what type of punishment the chef would have in store for her if she didn't win. Grabbing the toothpaste in her other hand, she took a final look at the reflection of the patissier before starting; "I'm ready."

First attempt.

Akari dropped the toothbrush; the toothbrush was wet. Akari dried the brush on her clothes and continued.

Second attempt.

Akari dropped the toothbrush; the toothbrush was still too wet. Akari dried the brush with some toilet paper and continued.

Third attempt.

The toothpaste fell on the counter; Akari squeezed the tube too hard. Akari decided to use less strength and continued.

Fourth attempt.

The toothpaste fell on the counter; Akari's hands were shaking too much. Akari decided to put the brush on the counter and continued.

Fifth attempt.

Akari finally managed to put the toothpaste on the brush. Thoroughly impressed with herself she brightly looked at Chase for approval. He nodded and explained that she gets the prize, and not the punishment. Akari exhaled, relieved that life was gracious, and asked what the prize was.

"You get to brush your teeth. Isn't that great? Gee whiz, wish I got a prize like that!"

Akari got an excitement high from Chase's faux praising of the joys of brushing one's teeth. Again, looking determined, she stared down at the brush and gave the young man a thumbs' up.

"Alright, I'll be out there," he said, pointing into the main part of the house, "Come out when you're done. Shout if you need me."

The chef walked out, closing the door behind him, and collapsed on the chair he was situated on earlier. He threw his head back, shutting his eyes and attempted to relax. Crossing his arms over his chest, he waited patiently for the door to open. He tapped his feet on the ground, frowning at how long it was taking the farmer to do such a miniscule task.

Chase started to take in his surroundings. The house had been upgraded since the last time he had seen it, and it was far roomier than before. She had replaced her old straw bed with a brand new double bed that barely looked used. He was used to seeing Akari's covers look slightly trampled, but the linens on them now were lush and streamline, as if she had just made her bed. He felt it strange, knowing how far Akari has changed her home and even how much she has changed the island.

He heard stories from the villagers that, before Akari's arrival, seemed too surreal to be true. The island was, apparently, a mess. Then Akari came along and suddenly everything seemed so much better; rainbows started sprouting everywhere, flowers bloomed brighter, the sky was more crisp and clear – he remembered the first time someone told him that; he asked if she had brought any unicorns with her, too.

But he couldn't deny her effect on people. Even with her indifference she became a valued part of the community. She touched people's soul. Not with her words, but with her driven spirit. She was unique. She worked for her goals. She was honest with herself and with everyone. She wouldn't accept other people's charity, but understood the strength that came in depending on others. There was a charisma about the girl that just drew people in.

And he wasn't sure if that charisma was dangerous. But he decided that, even without knowing if she'd hurt him or not, he wanted to trust her. He wanted to trust her because she opened up a new world for him – a world that not only seemed more forgiving, but also more caring.

The bathroom door creaked open; he was snapped out of his reverie.

Akari hopped over to Chase, still drunk. The smell of booze disappeared and was replaced with the overpowering scent of mint. The chef gave the girl a look-over and noticed the globs of toothpaste that littered her shirt. He sighed, figuring she must've tried repeatedly to brush her teeth, but failed multiple times in the process. Akari looked at him for instructions on what to do next. He sighed, passively and stood up.

"Just change into your night clothes and go to bed."

"I don't need pajamas."

"Yes, you do," he responded, lamely. Feeling like he was talking to a child who was about to throw a tantrum, he gave in and took the farmer by the hand. He walked her to the bed and started to speak, "If you really want to get toothpaste all over your nice, new covers, be my guest."

"I will!"

"Fine."

Akari smirked at him; an idea formed in her intoxicated mind. Throwing her arms around the boy, she pressed her body up against his, and swung him around. Chase, thrown off by the farmer's sudden movements, fell onto the bed with the chipper rancher on top of him. She squirmed above his body, pushing herself up until she was looking directly into his eyes. Her legs were place spread eagle over his hips and her hands laid flat on his chest. The chef's cheeks began to heat up as a rosy tint riddled his face. He quickly threw a hand up to shield his embarrassment, but after feeling that the action was useless he reluctantly took it down.

"Akari, you drank so much you can't feel your embarrassment right now."

"Chase, I drank so much I can't feel feelings right now."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about your position on me?"

"This position isn't bad."

"It's provocative."

"Only if you think of it like that."

"Normal people would think of it like that."

"Pro-voc-a-tive, huh? Let's kiss, then."

Chase gulped, fighting back the blush that was threatening to appear. He had been in this situation with women before, but those incidences and those women always meant nothing. He could easily take control and cast them off whenever he felt like it. But he was just beginning to realize how much he respected Akari and how great of an impact on his life she truly has made. The troublesome emotions that Chase had been fighting back for years started creeping their way into his heart. As much as he tried to hide his disenchantment with his emotions, his actual enchantment with Akari had grown exponentially, though he would always deny it.

Taking his silence as a 'yes' she leaned forward.

"Akari... You're close," the chef coughed out, sending a panicked look to the farmer who was slowly closing the gap between the two. Chase was too shocked at the farmers' movements to push her off. He froze on the spot, still looking at Akari's eyes that were half-lidded in a drunken haze.

"Well, duh."

The gap disappeared. The kiss was chaste, sweet and almost wanting. She pressed her lips against his softly, as if gently floating in water, waiting for the wave to hit her and carry her away. But when Chase's lips still held strong in their unmovable position, Akari gave up drifting and plunged head first into the water, regardless of sharks. She became more forceful, daring him to move. Her hands clutched his clothes tightly, as if willing him to fight back.

Chase started to realize what was going on. His head was buzzing with too many thoughts and his emotions were making themselves present. His hands slowly found their way onto Akari, gently caressing up the farmers arms until stopping themselves on her shoulders. Grabbing them, he forced them away from his body, forcing away her lips, with it. His face, and lips, continued to stay statuesque as he bore into her eyes.

She looked at him questioningly, innocently.

"You can't. You don't actually want this. You're drunk and aren't able to make proper choices."

Akari gapped, seemingly about to say something when Chase cut her off before she started, shoving her face into his chest and explaining himself.

"Even if you do want this – even if_ I_ want this – I won't feel right winning you because of alcohol. I won't let you do something stupid that you may regret in the future just because another man fed you some drinks. I thought that if anything happened between us it would ruin our friendship. That it would ruin the world you opened up to me. I didn't want to lose that – or you, so I just kept up my attitude, thinking that just seeing you was enough. But I can't act back; I can't kiss back. Not until you clearly understand my feelings. I can't guarantee I'll be this confident with you from now on. But this made me realize all those feelings I've been denying. I'm sorry.

"Sorry for always being a jerk. For never being there when you needed someone. I'm sorry for antagonizing you all the time. I'm sorry for not being romantic. Or charming. I'm sorry that... I guess, someone like me, likes you. But I'll try to improve myself, if you'll let me. I'll win you over with my own merits – just like how you would."

Chase lifted his head from the mattress and stared at the girl on his chest whose breathing became soft and rhythmic. He stroked her hair out of impulse before trying to slip his body out from under her. When he finally squeaked out, he positioned her gently on the bed, gathering the covers from beneath her form and placing them on top of her.

"You're really the only woman that would fall asleep during a semi-confession of a man's yearning for you."

He looked to his chest, flushing all shades of crimson at the toothpaste that was smeared on his front. Knitting his brows upwards, he looked worryingly at the smudges and how he was going to get them out – or explain them if they couldn't come out.

"Good thing I wore an apron."

* * *

_Remember in the old HM games when you drink alcohol? You just have one and you turn red and pass out? Yeah. I loved that._

_In other news: I've been trying to coop myself up indoors because of the heat, lately. Honestly, warning to everyone who hasn't gone outside in these past months: do not go outside. There is a huge fire ball in the sky and it is melting fucking everything._

_In other, other news: My university has been offered a challenge: beat the Spanish version of our school in a lipdub video that's better than theirs. I have no clue how this is going to work, but I'm stoked none the less._


	15. A Pirate or a Rival?

**I know, I know. I'm a horrible person. I just got my internet back and am over being heartbroken, so hopefully good things will come from feeling better? But I'm still very sorry. Hopefully a new chapter will make up for a bit of my idiocy?**

**

* * *

**

"... _Fuck_."

Akari swore softly and clutched her temples; there was a pounding noise in her head that wouldn't relent. She made a mental note to kill Julius later.

Dragging her feet across her floor, she made her way to the dining area. She clutched the chair in front of her with a free hand as she attempted to mentally banish her hangover away. Failing miserably, the farmer collapsed on the chair and began rubbing her eyes, pausing to yawn from time to time. It was then that the young girl noticed a small, rectangular note which sat solemnly by itself on her table. Her callused hands grazed the edges of the piece of paper before she lazily grabbed it and held it to her mouth to stifle another yawn. Moving the paper into her line of vision, she began unfolding it and investigated the contents.

* * *

_Dear Akari,_

_ Did you know that you snore when you sleep? And it's not in a cute way. It's very classy, though. As classy as getting as drunk as you did last night. Which was all shades of fun. I'm sure you'll have fun, too, cleaning up your bathroom. I'd really like to know how you got toothpaste on the ceiling, though. Get back to me on that, okay? Also, I recommend not drinking. At all. You can't seem to handle it. _

_ By the way, you may be hungry and since alcohol dehydrates you, I made some fresh orange juice and an orange cake. They're in the fridge. Happy Thanksgiving, Akari._

_Sincerely,  
Chase_

_

* * *

_"Asshole," Akari smiled, setting down the paper and bringing herself to her feet, shuffling them to the fridge. She grabbed the items in the note and made her way to the table to eat her fairly unhealthy breakfast and to kick start her morning. After some quick shoveling down of her food and some running about doing her daily errands she was done.

She was also done something else.

Her baking was complete.

The farmer had baked two cakes for Winter Thanksgiving; one for Chase and one for Chloe. Carefully placing them into her rucksack she decided to venture into the cold and greet Chase first, thinking that she could use the company while climbing up to Chloe's house.

The rancher trudged further away from her house, quickly making her way to Chase's place. As a winter wind pushed itself across the land, Akari hugged herself tightly, fighting off the freezing feeling, until resting on the doorstop of the chef's and knocking lightly. She had been in this position before, waiting for the young man to open the door since he always locked his house. She found that habit of his strange, since she locked her own place. Maybe she was just more trusting than him, she thought. That was the only reason she theorized in his need for constant security.

She heard a groan and some heavy foot steps behind the door until there was a click of the lock and the wooden barricade swung open.

"Ah, Akari!" Chase squeaked out, wide eyed; he recoiled backwards in surprise at the farmer's unprompted visit. In an attempt to regain his masculine pride from the high-pitched shrill he just let out, Chase lifted the arm, the one that wasn't connected to the knob, above his head and rested it on the door frame. Lowering his voice into a husky growl, he greeted her, "Why hello, Akari."

"Uh. Okay," the rancher grimaced at the chef in confusion of his antics, "I wanted to come by and thank you for the cake and stuff."

"It wasn't a problem. I know how horrible you are at cooking."

"Okay, you're wrong, but whatever – I made you an orange cake, too," pulling up a charred, sunken in rock on a plate from her rucksack, she happily looked up at the strawberry-blond, awaiting his approval. He gulped.

"Oh."

"It's a thank you gift. For the stuff today. And whatever you helped me with last night."

"You don't remember?"

"No."

"... You've got to be kidding me," Chase murmured. He perked up as a thought drifted into his head, "Probably for the best."

"Wait – why? I didn't do anything strange. I mean, I know about the toothpaste, now, but that was it, right?

"Right," the chef answered hurriedly, smiling politely at the farmer with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"... Chase. What else did I do?"

"Oh nothing, nothing, it's not important."

"Chase."

"So this is cake, huh? What a fascinating food."

"... You're not going to answer me, are you?"

"Nope."

Akari growled, frustrated at the boy in front of her. She pushed her way passed him and stomped into his house. The plate clanked loudly against the kitchen counter top. Grabbing a chair, she threw herself in it and crossed her limbs, looking at the boy with an annoyed glare. Her hangover had mostly ease off by now, but she still wasn't feeling fully well. The chef in front of her wasn't helping her situation, either.

Chase felt the heavy metal gaze of the rancher's eyes on his back; his face began to feel hot. He put a cool hand on his cheek in an effort to fight back the fire. Glancing robotically over his shoulder at the younger woman, he smiled politely and chastised her, "Akari. You don't just walk into a man's room."

"Oh, were you expecting company or something? I'll leave."

"No! No! I mean, no, I'm not expecting company – you just shouldn't walk into a man's room, as a woman. Especially when you two would be alone. You never know what the man could do to you."

"Chase."

"Even if you say you barge into a lot of men's rooms when you are alone – which, hopefully, you don't, or aren't – you should still be aware that he can overpower you, potentially. I mean, well, maybe you don't get the point I'm saying."

"Chase."

"It's just that I'm worried that another man will touch you or hurt you. So you should be more careful."

"Chase, I carry around a sickle wherever I go. Why would anyone think of doing anything like that?

"Well, good point, but not really what I'm sa–"

"Fine. I'll be more careful. Didn't take you to be the 'drone on about nothing' type."

Chase's eyebrow twitched. Did it seem to her like he was 'droning on about nothing' when he was just mentioning how he worried about her and doesn't want _another_ _man_ to touch her? He thought he was being clever in subtly showing her his feelings. Weren't women the subtle ones, too? How is it that she couldn't get something like that? Whatever he thought, he quickly disregarded it and opted for asking her about her coming over.

"I wanted to thank you, that's all."

"Ah," said Chase, still not sure that was the main reason why she was here, "Well, you've thanked me. I accept. Now why are you here?"

"To than-"

"You already said that."

"Fine, to bring you along when I give a cake to Chloe."

"Are you giving her one of your cakes?"

"Of course!"

"What did she ever do to you that deserves an assassination?"

"Shut it," Akari huffed out, locking her crossed arms even more, "She actually _likes_ my cakes. She always plays with them."

"You eat cakes, not play with them."

Akari glared some more, uncrossing her legs and standing up from the chair. She stomped to the doorway and was about to make her way out until Chase put a hand out to stop her. He had to admit that his interest was piqued when he heard someone in the world enjoyed the rancher's cake for some reason.

"I'll go, alright? Just don't get me to talk to her or anything. I'm just going to be a conscientious observer."

"Got it. But you should talk to her a little bit."

"No, thank you. I don't like kids. I didn't even like kids when I was a kid."

Akari pursed her lips, about to say something, but instead walked out of the house, waiting for the patissier to follow in her footsteps. He hopped out, as well, closing the door silently behind him and began to walk in tandem with Akari to the blacksmith's.

Trudging up the hill together they reached mine district and began looking around for the young girl.

"So, where is this kid?"

"She could be hiding, I don't really know."

Chase sighed, bringing a hand to clutch his temples and muttered something about how kids were annoying. He scanned the area, looking for a tuff of bright red hair, but found nothing. Akari, on the other hand, was enjoying the impromptu hide-and-seek which had erupted. The farmer began carefully and quietly looking into crevasses.

Chase quirked a brow.

"Akari, I really don't think she's hiding under a rock."

"How would you know?"

"She's not a piece of paper or an earthworm, is she?"

"No."

"That's why," he monotonically expressed, shoving his hands into his pockets, and only briefly hearing the end portion of Akari telling him her had no imagination. Chase walked over to the front of the mine and peered into its depths. The smell of metal annihilated his nose and made him frown. Clearly, he thought, this was an acquired smell.

He turned around and was about to vacant the mine entrance until something was pushed roughly into his back. Keeping his body still, he craned his head over his shoulder until he was once again looking into the black hole of a pathway.

"Avast! Who dares to enter the cavern of Princess Redbeard!"

"Uh," Chase stalled, looking over to Akari to see that she was still busy searching for the young girl, "Well."

"I said who dares to enter the cavern of Princess Redbeard!" the small voice boomed again.

The chef shrugged and decided to go along with it, "Excuse me, your highness, it is I, the gallant knight of this village who slew the dreaded chicken of York and then baked it in the oven with a teaspoon of paprika and some salt and pepper to taste–"

"I am not your highness! I do not like your attitude, so I'll have ye walk the plank!"

"Wait, what? You're not a highness? But you said you were the Princess Redbeard. Are you a princess or are you a pirate?"

"I'm a pirate princess."

"Oh! As opposed to a princess pirate, obviously. How could I overlook such a thing?" Chase turned around to face the self-proclaimed pirate princess, only to find a young girl with an eye patch and a stick in her hand. The chef squatted until his eye level was the same as the young girl's. He crossed his arms and placed her face as being Chloe, though he had only seen her once or twice around the village and never close up.

She had a peculiar look to her, he noted. The vertical gravity defying ponytail on her head which was split in two for whatever reason was unusual to him, but he was sure that the only villager who had hair quaffed like that was Chloe. He waited for her to say something.

The girl stared back at the patissier until her cheeks took on an even more red hue. She dropped her make-shift sword and played with the hem of her clothes, kicking some of the rocks below her. She shyly looked down, and then up again, only to meet the unmoving gaze the chef gave her.

"Hi. I'm Chloe."

"Yes, the pirate princess. But it's strange," the chef drawled, seemingly in thought.

"What is?" Chloe asked, her curiosity piqued at the inquisitive tone in Chase's voice.

"Well, you called yourself 'Princess Redbeard.' Princesses and beards don't really mix, but, y'know, to each their own. However, you don't have a beard at all. So why do you call yourself that?"

"Because I'm like my favourite pirate, Blackbeard! All pirates are named after their beards! Blackbeard! Bluebeard! And I'm Redbeard!"

"But if they're named after their beards, and you don't have one, wouldn't you be Invisibeard or something like that? And if you can only be a pirate if you have a beard, then you aren't really a pirate, right? And you don't even have a ship, at that."

"I am! I am a pirate! I just haven't grown my beard yet! And I'll get Luke to make me a ship!" Chloe yelled, attempting to convince the man in front of her that she was a pirate.

"Women don't grow beards. And I don't think Luke has the brain power, or the amount of resources, to create a ship."

"Well, maybe right now I don't have a beard or a ship... So maybe right now I'm not a pirate, but one day..."

Perturbed by her defeated tone, Chase sighed. He knew that a depressed Akari was one thing, but a depressed child was another. Plus, if Akari had found out that in a short matter of moments he made a little girl question her dreams she'd be rightly angry at him. He decided he had to cheer her up before Akari noticed the pair.

"You know, Chloe, you don't need a beard to be a pirate. Or a ship. I was just teasing you."

"No, you're right. I do."

"No, no, no. I was wrong. Have you ever heard of Anne Bonny?"

"No," the girl sighed dejectedly, eyes focused on the ground.

"Well, she didn't have a beard. And she didn't even command a ship. She was such an amazing pirate that she diverted a lot of the cliché pirate-y things and became her own genre of pirate: the fearsome female pirate. Maybe that's what you're destined to be?"

After Chase's speech, Chloe's eyes looked up, brightly. She smiled widely at the young man in front of her who was smiling politely back. In a brash decision the young girl jumped on Chase, hugging him and causing the squatting chef to fall onto his butt and use his hands to prop him up. He sat forwards a bit more and wrapped his arms around the petite girl while patting her head awkwardly.

She let go of him and he followed suit, only to have his hands grabbed by Chloe who began swinging them wildly about with her own, rambling on about her hopes and dreams. Mid-sentence, the girl stopped and stared behind Chase, who was too busy cynically thinking how he got himself into such a mess. When he noticed the young girls attention was diverted from him he looked behind him and saw the lithe form of the farm girl, who was smirking at the sight.

"Chase, it seems you made a new friend."

Chase grumbled as Chloe brightly screamed, "Chase? Your name is Chase? I like that name!"

The rancher giggled behind him and dropped to her knees, as well. Swinging her rucksack around her she wormed her hand into it until she pulled out another charred cake. Offering it to the young girl with a smile, the pirate snatched it up and gleefully thanked the older woman.

Chase cringed at the happy exchange.

"Chloe, are you sure you want to eat that? It could come alive and kill you, you know."

The little girl giggled, "Yup! I love Akari! And this is exactly what I want!"

"A death wish?"

"No, silly! Pirates don't have the luxury of eating something that tastes good on the ship. They make do with the most disgusting things because that's all they have. It's just like what they would have on a real pirate ship!"

Chase paused before he started snickering, covering his face to suppress the noise and to make sure he could block Akari's fist if she happened to want to hit him. After a short while, he calmed himself down and grinned at the pirate princess, placing a hand on her head amiably.

"You're pretty alright, Miss Chloe."

At the slight comment, Chloe blushed and haplessly muttered a 'thank you.' Gaining a bit of courage, the young girl placed the dish down beside her and breathed out, locking her eyes with Chase's. She inhaled some breath and puffed out her cheeks and chest before shouting, "If you want, you can come on my sea voyage. If it's you, I don't mind. Because I think you're cute. And you're funny. And really nice. And that's what you need in a first mate. So if you ever want to be the first mate to someone, Chase, please let it be me. Thank you."

Chase and Akari stared at the red-faced young girl, dumbfounded for a while, until Chase let out a small chuckle which caused both of the females to look at him. Confidently, he took one of Chloe's hands.

"Thank you for your kind offer. But I'm not sure if a small-time island chef would make a good first mate to a beautiful and courageous pirate, such as you. I would just be a burden to you on your journey if I were put in that position. I'm sure one of these days, you'll find a person who is worthy of your companionship and will make an excellent first mate, but I sadly do not think that person is me."

Chloe looked at her feet, taking in the bright color of her shoes. There was a pause where Chase worried if he said the right thing, since he has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. He tried to look in her eyes, but he head was too far down.

Hesitantly, and with as much ease and he could muster, he utter a meek, "Chloe?"

Her head sprang up suddenly, and a deep realization warmed her face, as if she figured out the answer to some widely philosophized question. Grinning broadly she boasted, "You only _think_ you wouldn't make a good first mate. But I can teach you, Chase! And then we can sail off into the sunset!"

Laughing awkwardly, and trying to hold back any biting comments, the chef breathed out an uneven, "Oh? Really? Ha. Well. Maybe? I guess?"

Chloe took that as a proud 'yes, I want to spend the rest of my life with you on the sea forever and ever.' She quickly hugged Chase before running up to an amused Akari. Grabbing the farmer's hands, Chloe twirled beneath them and sang about living a life on the sea with a special first mate.

Akari giggled at the girl until she noticed the now standing Chase giving her a zombified look. The rancher twirled Chloe off of her as she migrated near the chef. Knitting her brow and pouting slightly, she asked what was wrong.

"I feel like someone's sucking my blood with a straw."

"That's a wonderful way to view marriage."

Chase flinched, "No! I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that I wouldn't want to be in a relationship with someone I really don't care about! I'd want to love them, and hope that they love me in return, otherwise I would feel that—"

"Whoa, there, Charles Dickens. I didn't ask for your autobiography. What's with you today? You're been acting kind of strange."

"I – it's... –it's nothing. Never mind. Maybe I'm getting a severely late contact buzz from your reckless partying from last night."

"Well, that would explain a bit," Akari accepted, not wanted to push the issue since the chef looked perturbed. Chloe's laughter rang out as she pulled another figure into the couple's view. The muscle bound apprentice grinned broadly at the member of his family who was dragging him towards a pair of people. Only when his sister stopped did Owen realize who he was standing in front of.

Akari smiled politely at Owen, as she always did. Bowing slightly as she graciously said 'hello' to the man. Beside her, Chase scowled, still remembering the drunk Owen from last night who was attempting to hit on Akari. The chef stepped closer to the apprentice and moved nearer to Akari, until he was slightly in front of her, attempting to shield her if Owen began on any more advances. Owen looked from Chloe, to Akari, then to Chase. Not being as perceptive, he couldn't feel Chase's disdain for him, so he happily greeted them both.

"Hey, guys! Chloe was telling me she found a handsome first mate who she wanted me to meet. I'm assuming she meant Chase."

Feigning hurt, Akari ruefully quipped, "What? You don't think I'm the dashing one she was referring to? I am offended, sir!"

Owen chuckled light-heartedly, raising his hands and shaking his head, "Fine, fine. You're right. She could've been talkin' about you. – Hey, Akari, may I speak with you in private for a sec?"

Flashing a questioning look to the brunet, the farmer nodded and told Chloe and Chase to go place somewhere, much to the patissier's chagrin. Owen waiting until the two were out of earshot, before he spoke up; Chloe was attempting to convince Chase to play in the snow with her.

"Look, Akari, about last night. I'm sorry. I was really drunk."

"Excuse me?"

"I know, that doesn't really make it up to you, but I am sorry. Kathy always gets annoyed when I'm overly friendly while drunk."

"I'm sorry, Owen, but I really have no clue what you're talking about. We didn't do anything... Did we?"

"Oh! No! We were at the bar, and I was grossly flirting with you, that's all. I'm sorry about that. But that's the extent of what happened."

"Oh. Well. No harm done then, right?" Akari laughed, trying to make light of the situation, but still thoroughly confused.

"Exactly. I'm just glad that you have someone like Chase around you."

"Wha—? 'Kay, Owen, now I'm even more confused. Did Chase do something?" The farmer felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she casually glanced towards the chef behind her who was prodding at the snow with a stick, looking uninterested in whatever Chloe was saying. She gazed back at Owen, awaiting his answer.

"I guess I was overstepping my boundaries and Chase stepped in to make sure I didn't do anything. He put up quite a fight, being all gallant and what not. Oh, but don't worry! The fight wasn't physical! He was just protecting you, is all. And he did a damn fine job of it, too. Although, I wish he didn't inform Kathy. That woman has a temper, but hey, that's what I like about her."

"Ah, I see."

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm glad we're fine, again. I guess I better go save Chase from Chloe. She seems to really like the guy," Owen laughed heartily, walked over to Chloe and Chase and enticing his sister into the house with the promise of hot chocolate. Chase stood up straight, hands balled into fists and huffed out a breath, which formed in the cold air. Sending a quick glare to Owen, he hurriedly stomped up to Akari who had a dazed expression. Noting her twisted facial features, he once again leered at the apprenticed who shrugged and mouthed 'I'm sorry' with a small smile afterward before he was tugged away by the young pirate.

"Akari?" Chase questioned, his voice was laced with concern. His throat tightened as the girl's expression remained unfazed. Carefully, fighting back the cold that was threatening to freeze his body, he lifted a hand and lightly squeezed the farmer's elbow. Once again, he tried to get her attention. "Akari?"

The girl was still lost in her reverie. Chase became all the more frustrated when the usually responsive Akari didn't reaction, or even show any indication that she was listening to him in the first place. His mind began to wonder about what Owen could have possibly said that left her so robotic.

After a couple minutes staring at the girl, his patience collapsed. Raising his hand to her, his thumb positioned itself in front of the middle finger's nail, which was curled down; the thumb and the middle finger formed an 'o' as the other fingers were straight. He pushed the middle finger against the thumb, which was holding as still as it could, readying the middle finger for a head shot.

Potential energy became kinetic energy.

"OUCH. What the hell was that for, asshole?" Akari yelled, rubbing her forehead.

"You were busy daydreaming. I'm far too important to stand around a statue all day. I have other things to do, y'know."

"Yeah, like what?"

"Like knit a sweater. Or save a puppy's life. Or become a cult leader. Things that cool people do."

"You're neither cool, nor important."

"Chloe thinks I am."

"Chloe thinks my cooking is horrible."

"Chloe's right," the chef smiled, happy that the flick to the forehead had snapped the girl out of her thoughts. The farmer stuck her tongue out at the boy as she crossed her arms and started walking toward their houses.

Chase adopted a tender expression as he watched Akari bounce down the hill, quickly speeding up to catch her.

"I see why you wanted to give Chloe the cake. She really likes you."

"She seemed to like _you_ more. But she always did enjoy me. Dunno why, though."

"Because you're... Y'know... Neat, Akari," Chase admitted, looking away and scratching his face lightly while he shoved a hand into the back pocket of his pants.

"Neat, Chase? What is this, the 1950s?"

Chase stopped, prompting the farmer to do so, as well. He turned around to face Akari, grabbing her hands in his. The chef's soft hands covered the petite female's calloused ones. As their gaze drifted into one, one touch, one look, one person. Chase felt more confident than ever. Determination plastered on his face, he spoke: "You're amazing, Akari."

Akari stared back at the man in front of her, attempting to pick apart his words, but could only account for so little. Dazed and confused, she was shaken from her world when the same arms that held her hands had somehow made their way around her body, snaking themselves over the layers of coats, and warming her with a feeling togetherness. She reciprocated slowly, unsure of the moment. Unsure if this was even a moment.

As the hug continued, droplets of rain cascaded from the sky, hitting the pair, and awakening them from their thoughts and from the moment, if it even was a moment. Unwillingly, Chase pried himself off of the lithe body before him. As they broke apart a rush of cold air filled the now empty space where the heat of the other was – killing it, and destroying the relieving temperature, destroying the memory of what had just taken place.

Destroying one – now two touches, two looks, two people.

Chase was still looking at the woman before him, trying to understand what she was trying to understand. But she just looked away, then to him, then to a pebble on the ground. A tension filled the air, in which the pair participated, whether they wanted to or not. The silence between the two started to smother out all other sounds, even the hurried raindrops that plummeted to the ground; the chef lifted his hands, welcoming the water. He looked back to the farmer who was finding the pebble still very fascinating.

"Oh, good. I was feeling too dry," he said, breaking the brunette out of her reverie.

"Yeah, maybe we should head home? I mean, to our respective homes. Not like your home is my home or vice versa or anything of the sort, but the homes in which we lived up till now. I mean – oh god, I didn't mean to say that. I'm sorry, maybe that was a bit touchy with your being an orphan and all. I mean, the houses that we have here, which some people would refer to them as our homes."

Chase blinked. A smirk crossed over his features as he listened to the farmer ramble on about whatever topic she had nervously got herself into. He wasn't sure how to take her over-active talking pattern at the moment. An insult? Maybe the hug made everything between them weird, and she's just trying to fill in the gaps of silence they had with inane words as a punishment for him to have to listen to the farmer talk nonsensically about things. A compliment? Had he shaken her pure-hearted self too much with that hug that she perhaps understands that she may have feelings for him, as well? Chase gulped at the thought of her reciprocating his interest. He wanted that, yes, but how could he tell her that he loves her, if there could be a chance of rejection? He bit his cheek and raised his arm to stop the ambling Akari.

"Let's go back, now."

"Okay."

* * *

**... I love you all?**


End file.
